I'll edit my reply a wee bit by asking:
How far away exactly are the Guilds in the Trade Pact going to be? I don't want to have to protect a psuedo-silk road stretching all the way across the continent, but if we were all bunched together....
I'd gladly enter into military agreements to protect our mutual interests if everyone was sort of close together as to promote actual diplomacy, rather than just feuding...
I WOULDN'T ally with a clan that has no political affect on my surrounding territory though...
So if that's unclear I just updated to say that a Trade Pact (and perhaps a more inclusive Pact?) is a brilliant idea if we actually plan to settle somewhat near each-other which is kind of impossible at this stage considering that the vast majority of guild members (and a goodly number of Guild Heads) haven't played the game at all yet...)
P.S. Telahk; the location stated on thy profile made me do this: