"Global trade is a key driver for economic growth, and trade is related to several dimensions: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with disruptive technologies, globalisation of markets, innovation leading to new trade opportunities, as well as foreign investments following exports lead to...

Introduction / Simon Lester and Bryan Mercurio -- The economics of PTAs / Pravin Krishna -- Political economy of PTAs / Olivier Cattaneo -- Bilateral versus plurilateral PTAs / David Evans -- Legal Requirements for PTAs under the WTO / Andrew D. Mitchell and Nicolas J.S. Lockhart -- PTAs and...

Preferential trade agreements have become deeper over time, often encompassing policy areas that go beyond traditional trade policy, such as investment, competition, and intellectual property rights protection. In the literature, a prominent argument why countries sign "deep" agreements is to...