Modiro-Marata, Mpho2025-03-182025-03-182009-12http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/2727The proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RT As) has attracted a lot of attention in contemporary discussions of multilateral trade regulation. There were widespread attempts at regional trade agreements in the early 1920s but it is the current spate of RT As that continues to cause a lot of controversy among trade policy makers and analysts alike. There are compelling socio-economic and _political factors that make RTAs attractive tools for further liberalization of trade. Likewise, it can not be denied that the same presents the world trading system with challenges, which if not managed could divide world trade as was experienced in the 1930s. While the World Trade 0rganization (WTO)) has put in place rules and mechanisms to ensure that RTA does not become protectionist entities, it has found it hard to enforce them. This study argues that the problematic issues encountered as a result of the interpretation of the provisions of Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 (GATT) have created gaps which make it easier for WTO members to default or deviate from their wider obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The GATT regulations seek to ensure that RT As are complementary to the multilateral trading system. However they lack the proper institutional structure to manage the ever increasing number of RT As and this in turn has left the GATT open for potential abuse by members. The study will discuss what RT As are, how they operate and how they are a deviation from the GATT' s main principle of non-discrimination including reasons why they are sanctioned by the GATT. In addition to employing WTO case law to illustrate the above, the pertinent provisions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) legal framework will be analyzed to determine extent of compliance with the GATT and the implications thereof.