The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the formation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the development of regional dispute settlement mechanisms (DSMs). One of the most significant RTAs is the nascent ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) which has set-up its own untested DSM....

Restrictive preferential rules of origin cause producers in RTAs to source intermediate materials from RTA partners instead of non-parties in order to meet the rules of origin requirements. For RTAs concluded under Article XXIV, restrictive preferential rules of origin open doors to selective...

There has been much confusion, rather than debate, on the use of free trade agreements (FTAs). Unfortunately, a large part of the confusion is caused by the absence of consensus on the meaning of key terms such as the "utilization rate" and "usage rate" of FTAs, and the lack of knowledge on...