Abstract
Are global and regional initiatives to establish new trade rules diverging, competitive strategies? On one hand, the “mini-package” reached at the Ninth WTO Ministerial meeting in Bali this past December was a milestone in the two-decade history of the WTO. While the package was limited in scope—covering aspects of trade facilitation, agriculture, and development-related issues—it demonstrated that multilateral trade initiatives are still possible. On the other hand, more ambitious recent trade liberalization efforts have focused on bilateral and regional arrangements—over 500 have been notified to the WTO as of July 2013—especially in the Asia-Pacific region.