How Relevant Is Customs in the Operation of Free Trade Areas?

Abstract

While one of the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is to ensure non-discrimination in global trade, Article XXIV of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 has provisions for the establishment of free trade areas (FTAs), in which trading partners accord each other preferential treatment. Article XXIV allows a group of countries to form their own FTAs to speed up trade outside the multilateral trading system. This paper explores the relevance of Customs in the operations of FTAs. The analysis concludes that Customs has a major role to play in the operations of an FTA, and by extension, towards the realisation of the goals of the WTO.