The growth of digital trade is dependant upon greater interconnectivity across borders. Several countries strive to achieve such interconnectivity and integration in digital trade through international trade agreements. Digital trade integration is a complex, multidimensional process that...

While many believed the introduction of minimum standards and greater enforcement for intellectual property rights (IPRs) through the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) sufficiently placated the major industrialized nations' demands for strong IPRs, it now...

Despite the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) between nations today, academics and policy makers alike have yet to fully understand why trading nations actively pursue free trade agreements. With what aim do governments enter into an FTA? In this paper, we propose that the...

The construction of international trade accords has sparked controversy among a range of critics concerned with competing economic and social priorities. This dispute over a “free trade” agenda occasionally spills into the streets as the debate gains a public platform during high profile...

Given the current state of multilateral trade negotiations, it appears that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) will serve as the main vehicle for increased liberalization in the short term. The question arises, whether the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should and could include...

This Article, originally presented at a symposium, THE WTO AT A CROSSROADS, in 2004 at the Law Faculty of Bar Ilan University in Israel, provides a proposal that responds to the problems posed by the increasing prevalence of regional trade agreements. The Article argues that RTAs have tended to...

It may appear all too obvious that the extent to which foreign direct investment (FDI) is attracted by bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs) depends on the strength of key investment provisions. Still, BITs and RTAs have typically been treated as black boxes...

This paper discusses the possible impact of RTAs on FDI and trade flows in the Americas. First, it briefly looks at selected RTAs with investment protection, namely the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Group of Three (G-3) and the Andean Community of Nations (ACN). It then...

Trade costs associated with institutional failures and political risks, continue to serve as a big barrier to regional and international trade. Despite this strong impediment, limited work has been done to investigate the effect of weak institutions and type of political regime on bilateral...