Three giant trading blocs account for more than one half of the value of world’s trade at current prices. The biggest is the European Union (EU-15) whose intra-trade in 2001 was worth $1,418 billion. The second is Asia (a bloc that excludes Japan and Australia, but includes Greater China—Taiwan and Hong-Kong— South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Cambodia and Brunei); in 2001, it had $722 billion in intra-trade. The third in importance is the North Atlantic Free Trade Association (NAFTA) consisting of the US, Canada, and Mexico), with $637 billion in intra-trade. Read More »