This chapter outlines political, legal and economic aspects of Australia’s inward foreign investment screening regime, taking account of the historical development of the legislative framework and its practical implementation to date. Australian screening is characterised by high levels of...

Focusing on the agreements on trade in goods of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Multilateral Rules on Trade in Goods – Exceptions and Regulatory Autonomy outlines various provisions that grant WTO Members discretion in conforming with WTO rules. These include general exceptions (such as...

The EC-Seal Products dispute raises fundamental questions about the relationship between public morals and international trade. Can WTO members impose trade restrictions based on moral or ethical concerns? Under what conditions can these concerns trump existing trade liberalization commitments?...

Tobacco regulation forms a key part of responding to an acknowledged global epidemic. As tobacco regulation has intensified around the world, tobacco companies have used increasingly bold domestic and international legal challenges to defeat or delay stronger regulation. This volume offers a...

Trade-restrictiveness is a familiar concept across various provisions and agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), but its precise meaning remains vague. In many WTO disputes, the existence or degree of trade-restrictiveness of a challenged measure is simply assumed or addressed in a...

Twelve-country negotiations towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (‘TPP’) are drawing to a close. The treaty has an ambitious agenda and could radically reshape trade in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the TPP obligations have the potential to significantly restrict the...

This draft chapter compares the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) with the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, reflecting on relevant developments in the Australia-United States relationship including with respect to agriculture and biologic medicines. The chapter focuses on...

As the World Trade Organization heads towards the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005 and the Appellate Body celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is worth reflecting on the proposals advanced in the ongoing review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding that relate specifically to...

The purported solution to international mobile roaming charges agreed by negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (‘TPP’) has been hailed as one of the key achievements of the Telecommunications Chapter, and the treaty more broadly, especially within Australia. Apparent market failure in...

The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ('TBT Agreement') of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulates the requirements that WTO Members may impose on product labels and other 'technical regulations'. Requirements that discriminate against or between imported products are particularly...