Multilateral agreements and global governance of international trade agreements

Despite the initial momentum of trade liberalisation talks after the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the initiation of the Doha Development Round, progress has been slow. The momentum has been more in the direction of bilateral agreement, and in particular the formation of regional trade arrangements (RTAs). These trade arrangements, especially those negotiated by the USA and the European Union (EU) with partner countries, extend beyond the realm of conventional trade liberalisation to include rules on trade regulations (intellectual property rights protection, social and economic norms and legal frameworks) at the bilateral/regional level. This paper discusses these trade arrangements and comments on the evolving trade governance within the Atlantic Economic Space (i.e., those economies that have an Atlantic seaboard and trade predominantly with one another via RTAs).

Two principal research questions are asked: What are the areas of convergence and divergence in RTAs negotiated in the Atlantic Economic Space? Can the Atlantic Economic Space agreements contribute to a new framework on global trade governance by connecting the bilateral frameworks with those operating at the multilateral level? The research design adopted in this paper is guided by the interpretive approach. We begin by identifying the RTAs in the Atlantic Space and then identify the compatibility of their commitments with those of the WTO in the areas of agriculture, import licensing, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), rules of origin, trade defence, cross border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, the presence of natural persons, intellectual property, trade-related investment measures (TRIMs), trade facilitation, and aid for trade and dispute settlement. Our data sources consist of official WTO, World Bank, and regional trade agreement (RTA) legal texts. Careful analysis and comparison of these agreements with WTO requirements suggest that first, trade liberalisation agreements undertaken in the Atlantic Economic Space are driven by the aim of achieving convergence with the rules of the WTO. Second, convergence depends on the level of partner countries’ economic development and their integration into the world economy. This suggests that countries well integrated into the world economy exhibit greater convergence to WTO agreements. Third, the trend towards overlap between the RTAs and those of the WTO can be interpreted to mean that RTA would not inhibit a more global trend towards free or open trade. Furthermore as an actor, the Atlantic Economic space can support, shape, and enhance the multilateral order.