We develop a new theoretical framework of trade agreement (TA) formation, called a "parallel contest", that emphasizes the political fight over TA ratification within countries. TA ratification is inherently uncertain in each country, where anti- and pro-trade interest groups contest each other...

Governments increasingly are seeking to use bilateral and regional trade agreements to reduce the cost-increasing effects of differences in product market regulation. They also pursue regulatory cooperation independent of trade agreements. It is important to understand what is being done through...

What does economics have to say about the design of international trade agreements? We review a literature on this question, providing detailed coverage on three key design features of the GATT/WTO: reciprocity, nondiscrimination as embodied in the MFN principle, and tariff bindings and binding...

The panel and the Appellate Body have recently examined one of the national tobacco control measures (US – Measures Affecting the Productions and Sale of Clove Cigarettes). The dispute, which emerged between the United States and Indonesia, concerned the US ban on the use of certain flavouring...

The proliferation of regional trade agreements (“RTAs”) behoves all WTO members to assess the extent to which RTAs depart from fundamental principles in the WTO such as the most-favoured-nation (“MFN”) treatment in the GATT and in particular, the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to...

The general rules of the multilateral system cover trade in energy, although they are arguably not designed to specifically tackle major issues pertinent for energy trade. The traditional focus of GATT has been market access of domestic manufactured products abroad rather than access to foreign...

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) provide investors in natural resource projects with stability. Specifically, dispute settlement provisions, a feature of most modern BITs, allow investors to make claims against the host state for alleged breaches of the BIT However, some such provisions...