What are mega-regional trade agreements?

Mega-regionals are deep integration partnerships between countries or regions with a major share of world trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). Beyond simply increasing trade links, the deals aim to improve regulatory compatibility and provide a rules-based framework for ironing out differences in investment and business climates.

This has been excerpted from a 9 July 2014 article by Tomas Hirst of the World Economic Forum and is available in its entirety at:
http://forumblog.org/2014/07/trade-what-are-megaregionals/