A major challenge for the multilateral trading system is to secure the benefits of trade liberalization without infringing on the freedom of governments to pursue legitimate domestic objectives. The difficulty lies in distinguishing between two types of situations. In one, a non-protectionist...

The last two decades have been an extraordinary period for Vietnam. The country has undergone a dramatic transformation from a centrally planned economy into a market-oriented economy under the umbrella of Doi-Moi Policy. Vietnamese government has openly admitted the importance of liberalizing...

The World Trade Organization has grown into one of the most influential international organizations on the international plane. Its rise to prominence has also been a direct result of the success of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which has addressed more than 570 alleged violations of WTO...

In 2012, the Russian Federation (RF) joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) as its 156th member. Two years later, an international conflict over the developments in Ukraine in general and the changing status of Crimea erupted, which henceforth saw the RF, the United States (US), and the...

International investment law is undergoing a time of reflection, review and revision. Increasing dissatisfaction with the functioning of the current system that governs the protection of international investment and the wish to ensure that investment is channelled towards sustainable development...

This Article investigates the nature of digital exhaustion and argues that a regime for digital exhaustion should become global in nature and enforced through international dispute settlement systems, such as that of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This would reflect the global nature of...

The election of Donald J. Trump to the US Presidency coincided with the US adoption of an “America First” policy in trade. This policy reflects an underlying theory of economic nationalism that is fundamentally at odds with the current approach of the multilateral trading system established...

The general and specific obligations undertaken under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) by Members in relation to non-discrimination and market access and a level playing field in services, may under certain circumstances, considerably restrict the pursuit of equally legitimate,...

Agreed commitments under GATS — both general and specific — amount to substantial qualifications to the exercise of sovereignty and powers in shaping domestic regulation of services. Members therefore agreed to introduce security exceptions aimed to preserve Members’ freedom of action in...