Abstract. In the second part of XX century the world saw a steady strengthening and consolidation of liberalization trend in trade policies of many nations. This helped to establish the GATT in 1947 and, later on as a result of Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations (1986-1994), the new international economic institution - the WTO. However, the pace and scale of multilateral liberalization do not satisfy the participants of international trade. This triggers a widespread drive for concluding bilateral, regional and then transcontinental agreements on economic cooperation. The article is devoted to an in-depths analysis of the contradictions that arise between the WTO and regional trade agreements, as well as to the available ways of their reconciliation.