The "Regionalism vs Multilateralism" Issue in International Trade Law: Revisiting the Peru-Agricultural Products Case

Abstract

The Appellate Body's report in Peru-Agricultural Products, adopted on 31 July 2015, adds some value to the existing jurisprudence by elaborating on some procedural and substantive aspects of the relationship between multilateral and regional trade regimes. Key questions in this respect were whether a free trade agreement may prevent a party from initiating a dispute in the World Trade Organization over the measure that it explicitly permits, and whether that permission is conditional on the consistency of the subject measure with the multilateral trade rules. This article discusses three main ideas that are derivable from the appellate decision with respect to the legal regulation of regional trade issues in connection with the global trading system. While the present ruling applies to the disputing parties, it has certain "pro-multilateralism" implications going beyond the scope of this particular case.