Although global value chains (GVCs) are often considered a defining feature of the current wave of globalisation, little is known about: i) what drives GVC participation; ii) what the benefits associated to growing participation are; or iii) how developing countries engage and benefit from GVCs....

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) present opportunities for controlling technical barriers to trade (TBTs). Using key principles and provisions of the WTO Agreement on TBT as a yardstick for analysis, this paper examines whether and how eight major regional integration agreements within the...