Meanwhile, the number of regional agreements being reported to the WTO is increasing. Since there were already more than 20 separate working parties examining regional trade agreements, a decision was taken in February 1996 to establish a Committee on Regional Trade Agreements. Throughout 1996, the Committee examined various regional agreements and discussed how such trade agreements should be examined. It is important to note that countries party to such agreements are not always the first to divulge detailed information as to how they work, which sectors are covered and, perhaps most importantly, which sectors are excluded. The Committee also addressed how countries which are parties to regional trade agreements should report biennially on the operation of such agreements.
Efforts are now underway to finalize a standard reporting format.
Another area which the Committee will continue to discuss concerns the systemic implications of regional trade agreements and initiatives for the multilateral trading system and the relationship between them. This discussion mainly focuses on what repercussions such agreements may have on the functioning of the WTO system of rights and obligations. Many countries in favour of discussing regional trade issues in Singapore Many WTO Members participate in the Committee's work and several have stressed that the issue of regionalism should feature in the Ministerial Declaration at Singapore. While there are differences, it seems clear that most WTO Members agree that regional trade initiatives promote further liberalization and may even assist developing and transition economies, in particular, to integrate into the world's trading system. Some countries, however, insist that the relationship between such regional agreements and the multilateral trading system must be clearly defined.