Regulatory Coherence and the Mega-Regional Trade Agreements : Lessons from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

The Trans-Pacific Partnership includes a chapter on regulatory coherence and measures to reduce trade costs arising from divergent standards. We review the substantive content of the TPP's measures in light of existing processes in international organizations addressing good regulatory practices, and the track record of mutual recognition as a tool to reduce trade costs, and comment on the extent to which claims made on behalf of the TPP for significant cost reduction in goods trade can be sustained, and the extent to which fears concerning the impact of the TPP measures on democratic choice on regulatory matters are warranted