The Treatment of Regulatory Convergence in Preferential Trade Agreements

Polanco Lazo, Rodrigo; Sauvé, Pierre (2018). The Treatment of Regulatory Convergence in Preferential Trade Agreements. World trade review, 17(4), pp. 575-607. Cambridge University Press 10.1017/S1474745617000519

Preview

Text treatment_of_regulatory_convergence_in_preferential_trade_agreements.pdf - Published Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (349kB) | Preview

This article explores the concept of ‘regulatory convergence’ in the context of the evolving literature on legal convergence and divergence. Such a concept has emerged as an overarching horizontal discipline in the latest generation of preferential trade agreements and aims to reduce unnecessary regulatory incompatibilities between countries in order to facilitate cross-border trade and investment.

Differing approaches to regulatory convergence found in recently concluded PTAs, or are currently under negotiation, are examined, with a special focus on the ‘regulatory cooperation’ approach embedded in CETA, the path of ‘regulatory improvement’ taken by members of the Pacific Alliance, and the ‘regulatory coherence’ track included in the TPP. We also refer to the TTIP negotiations conducted between the EU and the US.

The article offers a broad understanding of the different ways in which regulatory convergence is implemented across PTAs, and the legal complexities resulting from the ambiguity of the concept. It further describes the scope and effects of the different mechanisms used to achieve regulatory convergence, on both substantive and procedural matters.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

31 since deposited on 28 Feb 2020
29 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item