REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Regional trade agreements are reciprocal pacts between two or more partners that lie some what between bilateral and global integration agreements. According to the World Trade Organization, 354 RTAs were in force as of mid-January 2013. Some of the best known RTAs are the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area (AFTA), and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (CoMESA).10 As discussed below ever, other very significant regional agreements are being negotiated, especially in the Pacific Rim.