TBT+ Provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs): An Enquiry into Their Compatibility with the WTO Framework

My research is meant to understand whether a major phenomenon in international trade, i.e. deep integration of technical barriers to trade (TBTs), is compatible with the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). TBTs are national measures regulating technical characteristics of both domestic and imported products. They usually serve legitimate purposes, such as consumers or environmental protection, but may also significantly hinder international trade. As a consequence, countries negotiating Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) always include a chapter laying down a common legal framework for TBTs. In particular, recent mappings of TBT provisions in PTAs show that they have been increasing in number, complexity, and coverage over the years. Most importantly, scholars found that a growing minority of PTAs includes commitments on TBTs that go beyond those accepted by the same PTAs parties as WTO Members. These commitments are usually referred to as “TBT+ provisions" or “deep TBT commitments". The available literature confirms that deep TBT integration benefits intra-PTA trade and strengthens economic ties between the contracting parties. What instead is still underexplored is whether these practices may discriminate against third parties. My PhD thesis aims at bridging this gap. In its first part, it will analyse the text of almost 60 PTAs to assess whether they include TBT+ provisions that hinder trade with third parties. In its second part, it will determine whether these practices may amount to discrimination pursuant to the law of the WTO. The ultimate goal of this study is to contribute to the on-going debate on the role of PTAs in the multilateral trading system. It aims at determining whether deep TBT integration negatively affects third parties or, on the contrary, benefits them, by virtue of an open regulatory regime that multilateralises the benefits negotiated on a preferential basis