Regional Trade Agreements and the WTO Legal System (International Economic Law Series)

The proliferation of regional trade agreements, including both free trade agreements and customs unions, over the past decade has provoked many new legal issues in WTO law, public international law, and an emerging law of regional trade agreements. The various Parts of this book chart this development from a number of perspectives. Part 1 introduces the economic and political underpinnings of regional trade agreements, their constitutional functions, and their role as a locus for integrating trade and human rights. Part 2 examines the WTO rules governing regional trade agreements, focusing on a number of areas in which regional trade agreements prove problematic, such as trade remedies, regulatory standards and rules of origin. Part 3 investigates areas in which regional trade agreements go beyond WTO rules, in areas such as intellectual property, investment, competition, services, sustainable development and mutual recognition, while Part 4 is devoted to the dispute settlement mechanisms of regional trade agreements, and includes illuminating case studies. Part 5 explores the interrelationship between regional trade agreements and the WTO system from the perspective of public international law, involving questions with significance beyond the trade community. 'regional Trade Agreements And The Wto Legal System' Introduces The Economic & Political Underpinnings Of Regional Trade Agreements, Their Constitutional Functions, & Their Role As A Locus For Integrating Trade & Human Rights. I. Framework Issues -- Economic Analysis Of Regional Trade Agreements -- The Political Economy Of Regional Trade Agreements -- Constitutional Functions Of The Wto And Regional Trade Agreements -- Ii. Wto Regulation Of Regional Trade Agreements -- Regional Trade Agreements And Domestic Regulation : What Reach For 'other Restrictive Regulations Of Commerce'? -- Mandatory Abolition Of Anti-dumping, Countervailing Duties And Safeguards In Customs Unions And Free Trade Areas Constituted Between Wto Members : Revisiting A Long-standing Discussion In Light Of The Appellate Body's Turkey-textiles Ruling -- Do Rules Of Origin In Free Trade Agreements Comply With Article Xxiv Gatt? -- Iii. Wto-plus Issues In Regional Trade Agreements -- Services Liberalization In Regional Trade Agreements : Lessons For Gats 'unfinished Business'? -- International Agreements Covering Foreign Investment In Services : Patterns And Linkages -- Trips-plus Provisions In Ftas : Recent Trends -- Competition Law And Regional Trade Agreements : An Overview -- Is Mutual Recognition An Alternative To Harmonization? Lessons On Trade And Tolerance Of Diversity From The Eu -- The Wto And Regional Trade Agreements As Competing Fora For Constitutional Reforms : Trade And Human Rights -- Sustainable-development In Regional Trade Agreements -- Iv. Dispute Settlement In Regional Trade Agreements -- Dispute Settlement In The Wto And Rtas : A Comment -- Nafta Dispute Settlement : Creative Experiment Or Confusion? -- Dispute Settlement In European Union Free Trade Agreements : Lessons Learned? -- Dispute Settlement In Bilateral Trade Agreements : The Efta Experience -- Dispute Settlement In The Proposed East Asia Free Trade Agreement : Lessons Learned From The Asean, The Nafta, And The Eu -- V. Interfaces Between The Wto And Regional Trade Agreements -- The Eu And Its Member States In The Wto-issues Of Responsibility -- Overlaps And Conflicts Of Jurisdiction Between The World Trade Organization And Regional Trade Agreements -- Applicability Of Wto Law In Regional Trade Agreements : Identifying The Links -- What Role Is There For Regional International Law In The Interpretation Of The Wto Agreements? Edited By Lorand Bartels And Federico Ortino. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [585]-597) And Index.

The proliferation of regional trade agreements, including both free trade agreements and customs unions, over the past decade has provoked many new legal issues in WTO law, public international law, and an emerging law of regional trade agreements. The various parts of this book chart this development from a number of perspectives. Part 1 introduces the economic and political underpinnings of regional trade agreements, their constitutional functions, and their role as a locus for integrating trade and human rights. Part 2 examines the WTO rules governing regional trade agreements, focusing on a number of areas in which regional trade agreements prove problematic, such as trade remedies, regulatory standards and rules of origin. Part 3 investigates areas in which regional trade agreements go beyond WTO rules, in areas such as intellectual property, investment, competition, services, sustainable development and mutual recognition, while Part 4 is devoted to the dispute settlement mechanisms of regional trade agreements, and includes illuminating case studies. Part 5 explores the interrelationship between regional trade agreements and the WTO system from the perspective of public international law.

Introduces the economic and political underpinnings of regional trade agreements, their constitutional functions, and their role as a locus for integrating trade and human rights. This book talks about the legal aspects of regional trade agreements, and looks at the relationship of these agreements to the WTO.