As the economic role of multinational, global corpora-
tions expands, the international economic environment will
be shaped increasingly not by governments or international
institutions, but by the interaction between governments
(5) and global corporations, especially in the United States,
Europe, and Japan. A significant factor in this shifting
world economy is the trend toward regional trading biocs
of nations, which has a potentially large effect on the
evolution of the world trading system. Two examples of
(10) this trend are the United States-Canada Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) and Europe 1992, the move by the
European Community (EC) to dismantle impediments to
the free flow of goods, services, capital, and labor among
member states by the end of 1992. However, although
(15) numerous political and economic factors were operative in
launching the move to integrate the EC’s markets, concern
about protectionism within the EC does not appear to have
been a major consideration. This is in sharp contrast to the
FTA, the overwhelming reason for that bilateral initiative
(20) was fear of increasing United States protectionism. None-
theless, although markedly different in origin and nature,
both regional developments are highly significant in that
they will foster integration in the two largest and richest
markets of the world, as well as provoke questions
(25) about the future direction of the world trading system.