RTA and Foreign Trade : Does Any Difference Exist?

It is argued that international trade connected with overall liberalization can lead to economic growth. This view comes from neoclassical trade theory, which is known for its support of an open economy. This article analyses the position of selected regional integration groups (mostly consisting of developing countries) in the international market. We try to find commonalities between their intra- and extra-regional trade and determine whether the existence of regional integration can have an influence on the structure of trade. We analyse the structure of trade, especially agrarian trade, together with the pattern of export. This analysis is based on COMTRADE data. The results show enormous differences between the chosen regional groups, which could be caused by the level of development of the member states in regional trade agreements. We can say that some countries prefer not to trade intra-regionally and would rather trade internationally, especially with their former colonial ruler. The structure of trade changes between the selected years, and there is a slight shift from low added value products to more valuable production