Question

How do trade agreements of international organizations affect trade?
Responses

by encouraging countries to provide open access to trade
by encouraging countries to provide open access to trade

by helping smaller countries compete in the world market
by helping smaller countries compete in the world market

by eliminating tariffs and taxes on imports and exports
by eliminating tariffs and taxes on imports and exports

by incentivizing the development of trade policies

Answer 1

All four statements describe ways international trade agreements affect trade — with a small nuance on the tariff claim:

- They encourage countries to provide more open access to trade by lowering barriers and creating rules that promote market access.
- They help smaller or less-developed countries compete by granting preferential access, offering technical assistance and capacity-building, and by creating a predictable rules-based environment.
- They often eliminate or reduce tariffs and other trade barriers between members (not necessarily all tariffs and taxes in every agreement, but substantial tariff liberalization is a common aim).
- They incentivize the development and harmonization of national trade policies, standards and regulations to comply with agreement commitments.

So all four are true, but note that “eliminating tariffs and taxes” is usually partial or conditional rather than universal.