Regional integration and intra-regional trade: a comparative analysis

This paper deals with regional integration in general and examines the intra-regional trade of selected regional groups and trade blocks as a comparative analysis. We pay particular attention to the periods after the founding of regional integration ( NAFTA and MERCOSUR) and after the signing of the AFTA (regards ASEAN) as well as the crucial years prior to and following the Asian crisis and since 1990 to 2003 for EU as a result of processes of trade liberalization in the mentioned regional groups. Using the statistical analysis, we found that the ratio of intra-EU trade has decreased from 66 per cent in 1993 to 60 per cent in 2003. In terms of the ratio of intra-NAFTA trade, this has signed increasingly trend during the period 1994-2003 and reached about 7 per cent growth. Similar trend has signed the ratio of intra-ASEAN trade, which increased more speed than the whole ASEAN trade, particularly after the signing of AFTA. Different trend was noticed on intra-MERCOSUR trade, which registered an increase up to 1998 and then it was sharply reversed.