TRADE AND INVESTMENT RULES
The global network of trade and investment rules is comprised of the various multilateral agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO); hundreds of bilateral, regional and mega-regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs); and thousands of international investment agreements, both stand-alone bilateral investment treaties and investment chapters folded into the aforementioned PTAs. Together, these treaties govern global trade in goods, services and ideas, as well as foreign direct investment and global capital flows. This architecture is meant to smooth the path for global commerce, making it easier for money and goods to traverse national borders.
GEGI’s program on trade and investment rules explores the geographic and textual landscape of the global trade and investment regime. It principally analyzes the extent to which these rules are compatible with individual country goals of financial and fiscal stability, access to medicines and other technology, climate change mitigation, as well as economic development more generally.
Our findings demonstrate that the global trade and investment regime lacks the resilience it needs to respond to current global challenges and is urgently in need of deep reform. To that end, this program publishes research with recommendations for global leaders and engages in thought leadership on a wide range of trade and investment issues.