South-South Regional Trade Agreements in Services: Does Treaty-Design Matter?

The recent years have seen a boom in South-South Regional Trade Agreements. These treaties often liberalise trade in services alongside trade in goods and therewith replicate or exceed the achievements of both GATT and GATS. However, only few of them have yet reached the stage of complete enforcement and application although economic integration in the South is generally seen as a key to sustainable economic growth. Trade in services plays a crucial role in developing and accompanying the creation of regional added value chains and enlarging both the regional market and the capabilities of regional production. This PhD-project takes a closer look at the reasons for negotiating RTAs in services in the developing world, assesses the legal content of South-South RTAs in services and finally analyses indicators for enforcement in the legal design of the treaty. The role of services is particularly interesting, as trade in services remains hard to regulate in a legally binding and unambiguous way.