Much potential for trade liberalization exists in industries and markets with trade barriers that are prohibitive for all or many firms. In standard political economic theories of trade policy, observed prohibitive barriers must be globally optimal according to static government preferences,...

This paper shows that electoral incentives affect the occurrence of trade disputes. Focusing on WTO disputes filed by the United States during the 1995-2012 period, we show that U.S. presidents are more likely to initiate a dispute in the year preceding their re-election date. Moreover, disputes...

The principle of reciprocity is central to trade cooperation. Economic theory characterizes reciprocal policy changes that guide nations from noncooperative policies to the Pareto efficiency frontier. This paper extends the theory of reciprocity to a wide range of settings relevant for 21st...

This paper considers trade agreements in a sufficiently general framework to encompass both imperfectly competitive market structures and income effects in government objectives. We show that governments choose globally efficient policies if they act as if they do not value the impact of their...

The authors argue that a WTO Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement needs a strong responsible business conduct provision, as such a provision helps to increase the contribution that FDI can make to sustainable development. They suggest some elements of such a provision.

This contribution focuses on the phrase 'in a manner affecting trade', that is often found within labour disciplines in trade agreements, expressly linking labour standards (or their violation) to trade. The meaning of this specific phrase has been the subject of much discussion recently,...

As discussions intensify to improve the international investment regime, it would be desirable to initiate an independent, open-minded, multi-stakeholder international investment consensus-building process to examine the range of issues associated with international investment law, to determine...

Despite extensive arbitral practice interpreting investment treaty protections, serious shortcomings still exist particularly regarding the fair-and-equitable-treatment clause. Recent reforms do not always enhance legal certainty and protect countries' right to regulate. While there is little...