Interactions between Domestic Orders and International Trade Law

Abstract

This chapter examines the interaction between domestic legal orders and international trade law. There are two directions to this interaction: rules and interpretations produced at the international level, by agreement or by institutions, may be “imported” into domestic orders. Domestic orders also often seek to “export” domestic trade rules, or governmental policies and preferences, to shape their international trade commitments and the multilateral trade regime more broadly. As regards “importation,” domestic orders usually block the automatic integration of internationally developed trade rules and interpretations, requiring domestic political action to implement them. For the “exportation” of trade rules, policies, and preferences, instruments for regime-shaping include not only new agreements but also engaging in interpretation, and sometimes renegotiation, of existing commitments. A final possibility is neutralization. Where parties can prevent final adjudication of disputes, they may persist with policies largely considered inconsistent with their commitments, and insist on their lawfulness, while blocking any multilateral rulings on the issue.