Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have become increasingly prevalent since the early 1990s. As of 31 July 2013, some 575 notifications of RTAs (counting goods, services and accessions separately) had been received by the GATT/WTO. Of these, 379 were in force. What all RTAs in the WTO have in common is that they are reciprocal trade agreements between two or more partners. Information on RTAs notified to the WTO is available in the RTA Database.

The WTO also receives notifications from WTO members regarding preferential trade arrangements (PTAs). In the WTO, PTAs are unilateral trade preferences. Information on PTAs notified to the WTO is available in the PTA Database.