Full Description
This book provides a thought-provoking critical analysis of the functionality of regional trade regimes in the Global South. It examines four regional trade agreements (RTAs) - the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA). Ngangjoh Hodu and Ajibo argue that while there has been immense enthusiasm amongst countries in the Global South to create RTAs, this has not translated into concerted efforts to make the RTAs work as envisaged, resulting in RTAs that are largely lacking in concreteness. In this innovative work, the authors invite international economic lawyers and other stakeholders to reflect on how normative beliefs and interests inform inter-state relations and thereby, the law of regional economic community. In so doing, it argues that the idea of prosperity underpinning RTAs as they currently exist is more of a mirage than reality.
Contents
Introduction; Part I. Prosperity in International Trade Law as a Mirage: A Mutually constituted approach to Regional Trade Law: 1. Normative beliefs in international trade law; 2. Globalisation and regional trade arrangements; 3. Regional trade regimes, disputes settlement and International law; Part II. Prosperity and Specific Regional Trade Arrangements as International Regimes: 4. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an international regime; 5. The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) as a legal regime; 6. Southern Common market (Mercosur) as an international regime; 7. USMCA as a regional integration project; 8. Achieving lasting prosperity in regional trade law: possible lessons for future trade arrangements; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.
