AS per the WTO Report 2011, Asian countries have become some of the most active in signing preferential trade agreements (PTAs). They have been party to almost half the PTAs concluded in the last 10 years. This has contributed to the increased concentration of trade within the region - second only to Europe in 2009.

The Report underlines that more significantly preferential agreements are evolving towards deeper integration that goes beyond tariffs and other measures at national borders — they increasingly include domestic policies such as regulations on services and investment, intellectual property protection and competition policy, which the report calls “deep PTAs”.

The report argues that deep PTAs reflect important changes in the world economy such as the growth of global production networks. The spread of these networks, in sectors such as electronics and motor vehicle manufacturing, has been particularly pronounced in the Asian region. The networks require better regulation and supervision in a range of areas, and deeper PTAs may be addressing this need.