Regulatory Cooperation and Trade Agreements
One of the main characteristics of third-generation regionalism is the inclusion of institutional arrangements aimed at bringing the regulatory systems of participants closer into line. Two agreements, ceta and the tpp, have recently been signed, and both include a special section on regulatory cooperation, This topic is also on the agenda of trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union, where it is both the main focus and the biggest stumbling block. This article shows how regulatory provisions in these new agreements are linked to the debate over regulatory cooperation at other levels, especially within the wto and the oecd. It also looks at the new parameters framing such cooperation and compares the regulatory provisions in the ceta and tpp texts we have access to.