Sustainable development in global trade (WTO) law

The course aims to provide students with the legal tools and proper legal methodology to address issues of sustainable development in the context of global trade law. The course focuses on analyzing the legal framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), as well as their relationship with the rules and principles governing sustainable development. To this end, it offers a general overview of the legal discipline of international trade, with a primary focus on the international trade of goods. Specific attention is devoted to examining the interaction between WTO/RTA rules and non-trade concerns, such as the protection of human rights and the environment, food security, the response to COVID-19, climate change, and fishing.

Program:

Part I:
· Sustainable development as an objective of the WTO and RTAs
· The WTO: origins, structure, and legal texts
· The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade): rules and principles
· The general exceptions: the protection of the environment, human rights, and national security
· The SPS Agreement (Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures)
· The TBT Agreement (Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade)
· The treatment of developing countries
· The US-China trade war and the crisis of the WTO

Part II:
· RTAs: rules and their relationship with WTO law
· The RTA rules and chapters on sustainable development