Derivatives as a Test Case for International Financial Regulation through the WTO

Abstract

Can the WTO play a role in international financial regulation? This paper examines that question focusing specifically on the regulation of international derivatives, reasoning that if that complex and controversial category of instruments can be successfully regulated, international financial regulation generally is theoretically possible. It goes on to describe how such regulation may be achieved through the World Trade Organization (WTO) employing the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) framework, and then demonstrates that the vesting of such regulatory authority in the WTO is in the interests of international finance, international trade and international economic relations generally.