This paper assesses the utility of economic theory of rational trade wars to predict such events or to prescribe courses of action to control their consequences. Trade wars are fundamentally political events whose causes are almost completely political and whose consequences are to a significant...

While the theory of economic policy offers a potential framework for thinking about the joint pursuit of economic objectives (EOs) and non-economic objectives (NEOs), over time the theory of economic policy was formalized in a way that considers NEOs as constraints that are given, rather than as...

The WTO is regarded as one of the few successes of (proto-) constitutionalism in response to globalization. However, the rapid deepening of economic integration that has occurred in recent decades has meant that the relevant civil society is less obviously well-represented by nation-state...

The post Second World War liberal trade order has been a driver of global economic growth and rising average per capita incomes. This order confronts increasing opposition, reflecting concerns about adjustment costs and distributional effects of globalization, and the ability to pursue national...

Geo-economic tensions and global collective action problems call for international cooperation to revise and develop rules to guide both the use of domestic subsidies and responses by governments to cross-border competition spillover effects. Current WTO rules that divide all subsidies into...

Using a large dataset covering more than 180 countries and spanning several decades, we employ a SDID estimator to identify the extent to which trade agreements incorporating non-trade provisions (labor standards, environmental protection and civil and political rights) are associated with...

In this paper, we examine the recent WTO dispute “Colombia – Measures Relating to the Importation of Textiles, Apparel and Footwear (DS461).” The dispute centers on the appropriate use of trade measures to target trade-related money laundering, the WTO consistency of such measures, and an...

While the theory of economic policy offers a potential framework for thinking about the joint pursuit of economic objectives (EOs) and non-economic objectives (NEOs), over time the theory of economic policy was formalized in a way that considers NEOs as constraints that are given, rather than as...

Global trade and investment is increasingly characterized by systemic conflicts, giving rise to unilateral policies to attain competitiveness, national security and other noneconomic objectives. Disparate national measures motivated by all these objectives targeting the global value chains...

The WTO is looking for a new Director-General (DG). What does the trade community think is needed? This paper reports on the results of an expert survey undertaken as part of a research project on global trade governance at the European University Institute to solicit views on what WTO members...