According to WTO rules these agreements are subject to certain requirements such as notification to the WTO and general reciprocity (the preferences should apply equally to each of the signatories of the agreement) where unilateral preferences (some of the signatories gain preferential access to the market of the other signatories, without lowering their own tariffs) are allowed only under exceptional circumstances and as temporary measure.
Prema pravilima STO, ovi sporazumi su predmeti određenih zahteva, kao što je prijava STO i opšte uzajamno dejstvo (prednosti treba da važe podjednako za svakog od potpisivača sporazuma), gde su jednostrane prednosti (neki od potpisivača dobijaju povlašćeni pristup tržištu, bez smanjenja sopstvenih tarifa), dozvoljene u posebnim okolnostima i kao privremene mere.