This book addresses the role of regional and bilateral agreements in rule-making; provides an analytical framework for assessing the impact of regional and other preferential agreements on rule-making; and illustrates the role of regional agreements in a multi-level process of rule-making.

Seven detailed case studies show that regional agreements can make a positive contribution to the evolution of predictable trade and investment rules, but much depends on the kind of rules they promote.

To date regional rule-making has gone hand-in-hand with the evolution of multilateral rules, but recent developments give some pause for thought.

It is important to understand more fully the interaction between the regional and other levels of rule-making, if the positive aspects are to be furthered and negative aspects contained.

List of contributors

Foreword By Luk Van Langenhove

List of acronyms

1 Introduction: The interaction between levels of rule-making in international trade and investment By Stephen Woolcock

2 Rule-making in agricultural trade: RTAs and the multilateral trading system By Charles Tsai

3 The interaction between levels of rule-making in international trade and investment: The case of sanitary and phytosanitary measures By Grant E. Isaac

4 Preferential rules of origin: Models and levels of rule-making By Luis Jorge Garay and Philippe De Lombaerde

5 The interaction between levels of rule-making in public procurement By Stephen Woolcock

6 Assessing the interaction between levels of rule-making:Trade in telecommunications services By Heidi Ullrich

7 The international regulation of IPRs in a TRIPs and TRIPs-plus world By Meir Perez Pugatch

8 International Investment rules By Joakim Reiter

9 Conclusions By Stephen Woolcock

INDEX