Dispute Settlement Regimes Intermingled: Regional Trade Agreements and the WTO

Abstract

The field of international trade law, often highlighted for its unity and the strength of its dispute settlement and remedies systems, is itself no stranger to the phenomenon of the so-called ‘proliferation’ of dispute settlement mechanisms. Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are increasingly prevalent and set up more and more solid and far-reaching dispute settlement systems, some of which are likely to come into direct contact with the multilateral system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article focuses on one particular type of such interaction between RTAs and the WTO: how should we address the issue of a trade countermeasure taken in the context of an RTA when such retaliatory action can be considered a breach of a WTO rule? A proper answer to this question requires an analysis of the flexibilities provided by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and General Agreement on Trade in Services exception provisions allowing Members to maintain certain RTAs and of the nature of countermeasures often explicitly authorized by RTA dispute settlement mechanisms. The range of issues, relevant international law rules and potential solutions discussed are set to become only more pertinent both within the changing field of international trade law and, as international legal regimes become more robust and increasingly come into contact with one another, in contemporary international law in general.