Figure 7 shows that the number of PTAs including an obligation to treat all enterprises equally under competition laws1 have followed a similar evolution to the number of PTAs with SE disciplines in place. While such an obligation remained non-existent or marginal in the PTAs that entered into force during the 1990s, it started emerging and becoming more common in the 2000s, albeit with some yearly fluctuations. As of 2014, agreements including an obligation of equal treatment have become prevalent, although there are still PTAs entering into force today that do not incorporate any competition provisions. OECD Member countries account for the largest share of PTAs containing an equal treatment obligation. Additionally, many of the observations found in Figure 7 (which reflects the number of PTAs with disciplines on SEs as compared to those that do not contain such disciplines) also apply here.
How preferential trade agreements address market distortions from state enterprises
Note: Annex E provides an explanation of the compilation exercise illustrated in this figure. Dark blue bars show PTAs including an obligation under the competition provisions to treat all enterprises equally under competition law. Such an obligation covers the three types of provisions described in note 94above, namely provisions (i) to (iii). The grey bars show other PTAs that have competition provisions but do not include such obligation, while the light blue bars show other PTAs that do not have any competition provisions. Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Only PTAs that entered into force after 1990 are shown in the left graph. The spike in the overall number of PTAs newly in force in 2020 and, even more, in 2021 relates to the entry into force of the PTAs undertaken by the United Kingdom following its withdrawal from the European Union.
Source: based on a compilation of preferential trade agreements that are today in force, which contain disciplines on SEs (left- and right-side graph) and OECD MAGIC database (accessed 9 March 2026) (right-side graph).
← 1. For this purpose, the analysis has identified three different types of provisions imposing an equal treatment obligation: (i) a broadly formulated provision requesting Parties to comply with the principle of non-discrimination when applying their competition laws; (ii) a more specific provision requiring Parties to apply their competition legislation without distinction between enterprises on the basis of ownership and (iii) a provision expressly referring to SEs, as defined under the PTA concerned. In including provision (i) in its counting methodology, namely the obligation requiring Parties to comply with the principle of non-discrimination when applying competition laws, the OECD has adopted a broad approach as it is not clear whether it may cover only the obligation to apply competition laws without distinction on the basis of nationality. The OECD has nonetheless excluded instances where PTAs refer specifically to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of nationality.