Publication: Horizontal Depth: A New Database on the Content of Preferential Trade Agreements
Date
2017-02
ISSN
Published
2017-02
Author(s)
Abstract
Preferential trade agreements are an
important feature of the global trade system. Several
questions, ranging from the rationale for preferential
arrangements to their impact on members, non-members and the
broader multilateral trade system, are at the forefront of
academic and policy debates in trade policy. This paper
contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it
presents a new database that offers a detailed assessment of
the content of preferential arrangements, examining the
coverage and legal enforceability of provisions. The
database covers 279 agreements signed by 189 countries
between 1958 and 2015, which reflects the entire set of
preferential trade agreements in force and notified to the
World Trade Organization as of 2015. Second, the paper
presents some novel stylized facts on preferential
arrangements based on the analysis of the data. The key
insight is that preferential trade agreements became deeper
over time. A growing number of these treaties cover an
extended set of policy areas, frequently with legally
enforceable provisions, in areas under the current World
Trade Organization mandate and in four leading areas outside
the current World Trade Organization mandate: competition
policy, investment, movements of capital, and intellectual
property rights protection. Accounting for the changing
coverage of preferential trade agreements, that is, their
“horizontal depth,” is essential to gain a more complete and
accurate understanding of where the global trading system is
going and how its governance can be improved.
Citation
“Hofmann, Claudia; Osnago, Alberto; Ruta, Michele. 2017. Horizontal Depth: A New Database on the Content of Preferential Trade Agreements. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7981. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26148 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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