Geography matters for a number of reasons in the case of RTAs. Neighboring countries often share a common history, language, culture, and currency. Unless the countries are at war with each other, they have usually developed trading ties already. Close proximity reduces transportation costs, thereby making traded products cheaper in general. In fact, as physical distance between two countries increases by 1 percent, international trade drops by 1.1 percent. On the other hand, trade is likely to rise by 80 percent between countries with a common border, 200 percent with a common language(such as English between Canada and the United States), and 340 percent with a common currency(such as the euro for countries in the EU that have adopted it). Another strong incentive for geographically close countries to establish an is that trade among bloc members is likely to rise by 330 percent once an agreement is established.