A Free Trade Area (FTA) is a stage of economic integration. It is brought about by a Free Trade Agreement.
In an FTA, each member eliminates tarrifs against each others' goods.
For instance, imagine there are three nations: A, B, and C. A and B are in the FTA, while C is not. A and B have no tarrifs against each other, while A and B individually chose what tarrifs to levy against C. Like with a PTA, an FTA's effects on other nations is hotly debated.
FTA is the lowest "standard" stage of economic integration. FTA is also the first stage where some effective national sovereignty is lost (a nation's ability to save domestic industries is seriously diminished).
The largest FTA in history is the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). Ironically, the previous "big" FTA, the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), is gradually disintegrating.