This paper examines the issue of sustaining free trade when countries receive imperfect private information about each other’s non-tariff barriers. Because the countries can misrepresent their private belief about other countries’ protection levels, the punishment scheme to deter...

This paper examines the issue of sustaining free trade when countries receive imperfect private information about each other's non-tariff barriers. Because the countries can misrepresent their private briefs about other countries' protection levels, the punishment scheme to deter deviations from...

International trade disputes often involve the WTO as a third party that generates impartial opinions of potential violations when countries receive imperfect and private signals of violations. To identify the role that the WTO plays in enforcing trade agreements, this paper first characterizes...