Date: 2014
Type: Working Paper
Negotiating mega-agreements : lessons from the EU
Working Paper, EUI RSCAS, 2014/112, Global Governance Programme-142, Global Economics
MESSERLIN, Patrick, Negotiating mega-agreements : lessons from the EU, EUI RSCAS, 2014/112, Global Governance Programme-142, Global Economics - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/33776
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
One of the stated objectives of recent ‘mega’ preferential trade agreements (PTAs) being negotiated by large trading powers is to address the trade-impeding effects of differences in national regulation. Past experience demonstrates there are serious limitations in what can be achieved in PTAs even in instances where there is a high level of trust among the countries involved. The disappointing results of the European Union’s “Internal Market” illustrate the challenge of using PTAs to integrate markets. This paper argues that some systemic errors were made in the way the EU Internal Market was negotiated. The two main instruments used to build the EU Internal Market—harmonization and mutual recognition—are of limited usefulness for integrating modern economies. An alternative instrument—mutual equivalence—is a much more promising instrument not only for the EU but also for the mega-PTAs currently under negotiation.
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/33776
ISSN: 1028-3625
Series/Number: EUI RSCAS; 2014/112; Global Governance Programme-142; Global Economics
Keyword(s): Regulation Trade agreements EU TTIP
Other topic(s): Trade, investment and international cooperation