State menber to another State member within the framework of a customs union, free-trade area or any regional integr-ated grouping. 19.. liloreover, at its Edinburgh neeting (f969) the Institute of In Law adopted a resolution reflecting the actual problems: "States to which the clause is applied should not be able to invoke it in order to claim a treatment identical with ttrat which States participating in an integrated regional system concede to one another.r' 20. Furthermore, in the framework of GATT the exception in guestion was explicitly recognized in article XXIV of the General Agreenent on customs unions and free-trade areas and in the decision of 28 November 1979 establishing compatibility between preferential treatment and the oGATT-lrlTN statutetr, the so-called enabling clause, for economic-preference areas and other preferential nachinery among developing countries. 2L. Any solution running counter to the exception or that gave rise to uncertainty about it could become a sourCe of serious difficulties for existing customs unions, free-trade areas and integrated systemsi if the exception were lacking, the many countries that are members of such organizations reould be obliged to enter reservations when signing any convention envisaging such a solution. 22. It is understood that the terrn 'developedo usetl in connection with the beneficiary State should be deleted frorn the first paragraph of draft article 24.In view of the possibility that, within the legal framerprk laid down in thearticle, two or more developing States could set up reciprocal preferential, treatmentr dny agreements reached by them must be exenpted fron application of the clause both to developed States and to other developing States. It should be established that in order to benefit fron tbis exenption the agreements in guestion
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international trade agreements and the rules that govern them, specifically the concept of customs unions, free-trade areas, and regional integrated groupings. It mentions the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the enabling clause, which suggests a focus on international trade and economic development.

**Category**
International trade