New Developments on Regional Integration

For PhD students: This lecture in law is eligible as part of the PhD seminar series.

Description
This seminar will focus on the law of regional integration both from a multilateral and regional perspective. It will cover the substantive rules of WTO relating to regional trade agreements, namely Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, Article V of the GATS and the Enabling Clause, and consider relevant WTO jurispru­dence on the scope of these provisions as well as the interface between regionalism and multilateralism. Contemporary issues driving the initiation and conclusion of regional trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), the Regional Comprehen­sive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) will be analysed. The WTO-plus and WTO-extra provisions in these agreements will be examined to determine whether they actually enhance market access and provide legitimate reasons for their conclusion.  With the paralysis at the WTO, are we likely to see a surge in the initiation and conclusion of regional trade agreements? The seminar will also discuss what the response of the WTO should be with the proliferation of these regional trade agreements. Will they strengthen or undermine the multilateral trading system and make it difficult to resurrect the rule-making function of the WTO.