This presentation explores the growing role of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and their complex relationship with the WTO-based multilateral trading system. It defines PTAs as trade deals that reduce barriers among members but deviate from the MFN principle, and discusses their proliferation due to stalled WTO negotiations, geopolitical motives, and the shift toward mega-regionalism. While PTAs offer flexibility and deeper commitments, they risk discrimination, legal fragmentation, and weaker outcomes for developing states. The WTO permits PTAs under strict conditions but remains challenged by their expanding scope, raising concerns over its diminishing role in global trade governance.