While the WTO includes some disciplines regarding regulatory policies, most notably in the area of mandatory product standards (SPS/TBT), most of the rules and mechanisms that determine how to collaborate on regulatory policies takes place outside the ambit of trade frameworks. In recent years however, there has been an increasing systemising of regulatory cooperation through trade and investment frameworks, particularly through the modern deep integration agreements. This session seeks to identify innovative provisions and mechanisms for regulatory cooperation that are emerging from recent bilateral and regional trade agreements. Additionally the session will explore the implications of these practices on both members and non-members, and assess whether any of these new practices could be harvested for the multilateral level, or by other regional actors.
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