Existing formal models of the relationship between trade policy and regulatory policy suggest the potential for a regulatory race to the bottom. WTO rules and disputes, however, center on complaints about excessively stringent regulations. This paper bridges the gap between the existing formal...

“Subsidization” by member governments occurs in the U.S. Federal system, the WTO, and the European Union. These three legal systems have responded very differently to the issues raised by subsidies, from the largely laissez-faire approach of the United States to the elaborate “state aid”...

One of the most challenging tasks for international trade agreements is to distinguish protectionist regulation from legitimate regulatory policies. An important set of tools in this regard may be termed "regulatory consistency requirements." These include the national treatment obligation of...

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development has assembled a task force on Rethinking International Subsidy Disciplines. This paper, prepared for the task force, considers the economic case for general disciplines on subsidies by WTO member states. It considers the two...

Existing formal models of the relationship between trade policy and regulatory policy suggest the potential for a regulatory race to the bottom. WTO rules and disputes, however, center on complaints about excessively stringent regulations. This paper bridges the gap between the existing formal...