What is the Difference Between CECA and FTA?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between CECA, CEPA, and FTA lies in the scope and coverage of the trade agreements. Here's a breakdown of each type of agreement:
- FTA (Free Trade Agreement): An FTA focuses only on goods and aims to reduce or eliminate tariffs and quotas on trade between partner countries. However, it does not cover services, investment, intellectual property rights (IPR), government procurement, or regulatory aspects of trade.
- CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement): A CECA is more comprehensive than an FTA, as it covers not only goods but also services, investment, IPR, government procurement, and other areas of economic partnership. However, it is not as comprehensive as a CEPA.
- CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement): A CEPA is the most comprehensive and ambitious among these agreements. It includes goods, services, investment, IPR, government procurement, disputes, and regulatory aspects of trade. It covers a wide range of topics and is more comprehensive than a CECA.
In summary, while all these agreements aim to promote trade and economic cooperation between countries, their scopes vary. FTAs focus on goods, CECA covers goods and some additional areas, and CEPA is the most comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics related to trade and economic partnership.
Comparative Table: CECA vs FTA
The main difference between CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) and FTA (Free Trade Agreement) lies in their scope and coverage. Here is a table comparing the key differences between the two:
| Feature | CECA | FTA |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | More comprehensive and ambitious, covering goods, services, investment, IPR, competition, government procurement, and disputes. | Focuses primarily on goods and services, but does not cover other areas like investment, competition, government procurement, and disputes. |
| Coverage | Covers both tariff and non-tariff barriers, including regulatory aspects of trade. | Covers tariff barriers, but may not cover all non-tariff barriers. |
| Regulatory Aspects | Includes mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) that cover the different regulatory regimes of partners. | Regulatory aspects are not as deeply covered as in CECA. |
| Participating Countries | CECA is usually a bilateral agreement between two countries. | FTA typically involves a group of countries that have geographical and cultural similarities. |
Both CECA and FTA aim to boost trade by gradually eliminating barriers, quotas, and preferences. However, CECA is more comprehensive and covers a wider range of areas compared to an FTA, which primarily focuses on goods and services.
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