The Bali Trade Facilitation Agreement and Rulemaking in the WTO: Milestone, Mistake or Mirage?

34 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2014

See all articles by Bernard Hoekman

Bernard Hoekman

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Economic Research Forum (ERF)

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Date Written: October 2014

Abstract

The Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) embodies the first set of new multilateral rules to have been negotiated under auspices of the WTO, part of a small package of decisions centering on matters of interest to developing countries that was "harvested" from the broader Doha round. This paper analyzes the outcome of the trade facilitation talks, assesses the role of the epistemic community that provided information to negotiators and reflects on the lessons and possible implications of the TFA experience for the prospects for new rule-making and cooperation on regulatory matters in the WTO. The TFA illustrates both the potential and the difficulty of negotiating generally applicable stand-alone agreements in the WTO and demonstrates the importance of issue linkage in achieving cooperation in trade policy matters.

Keywords: economic development, international negotiations, trade agreements, trade costs, WTO

JEL Classification: F13, F53, O24, R11

Suggested Citation

Hoekman, Bernard, The Bali Trade Facilitation Agreement and Rulemaking in the WTO: Milestone, Mistake or Mirage? (October 2014). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP10212, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2512740

Bernard Hoekman (Contact Author)

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) ( email )

via Boccaccio 121
Florence, Florence 50133
Italy

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Economic Research Forum (ERF) ( email )

21 Al-Sad Al-Aaly St.
(P.O. Box: 12311)
Dokki, Cairo
Egypt

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