Research Papers

The paper seeks to analyse the EU’s deep trade agenda, as materialised in its recent FTAs in the area of IPRs, and assesses whether the EU’s experience can inform the ongoing debates on TRIPS reform. The EU is considered as one of the main proponents of what has been called the "deep trade agenda" that is, the push for further trade liberalisation with an emphasis on the removal of domestic non-tariff regulatory measures affecting trade, as opposed to the traditional focus on the removal of trade barriers at borders. As negotiations on the Doha Development Round have stalled, the EU has turned to FTAs to achieve these aims by entering into comprehensive FTAs that are not limited exclusively to tariffs but also extend to non-tariff barriers, including services, IPRs, competition and investment. These FTAs place great emphasis on regulatory convergence as a means to secure greater market openings. The paper will examine the EU’s attempts to promote its own regulatory model for the protection of IPRs, a particularly instructive area as it is typically held as the epitome of positive rule making at an international level. The paper will analyse from a legal perspective the recent FTAs concluded by the EU and analyse to what extent these add anything of substance to the current level of liberalisation existing under TRIPS, the manner in which such agreements reconcile further liberalisation, market regulation and legitimate social purposes, such as development, and how these developments can inform the ongoing debate concerning WTO reform.