With the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the pyramidal design of the international trading system placed multilateralism at the top of the pyramid, regionalism/bilateralism in the middle, and the domestic trade and economic policies of WTO Member States at the bottom of...

In the context of a current global economic crisis and an unfinished World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round, multilateralism is at its weakest point. The proliferation of bilateral and regional trade agreements seems to be the natural consequence of failed multilateralism. In this difficult...

This chapter assesses the role that energy plays in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations and the growing importance that energy security is acquiring in the US-European Union political agenda. It analyzes the potential effects that the liberalization of trade in...

This paper argues that China’s attitude to multilateral trade is unclear. Moreover, China assumes little responsibility to maintain international order in global economic governance. Furthermore, this paper argues that China should hide less behind the status of a developing country and stand...

This timely book examines international trade and investment law at various levels of governance, including unilateral, bilateral, regional, and multilateral arrangements. The author demonstrates that the nature of international trade law is fragmented and cyclical. Whilst not always...

The current international energy trade governance system is fragmented and multi-layered. Streamlining it for greater legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation would promote global energy security. The current article explores three levels of energy trade...