Rethinking, Repackaging, and Rescuing World Trade Law in the Post-Pandemic Era

This book explores the ways to 'rethink', 'repackage' and 'rescue' world trade law in the post-COVID-19 era. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an important context, the book makes original and critical contributions to the growing debate over a range of emerging challenges and systemic issues that might change the landscape of world trade law in the years to come. The book asks: do these unprecedented times and challenges call for reengineering the world trading system and a further retreat from trade liberalisation?

The authors offer a rigorous and insightful analysis of whether and how the existing trade institutions and/or rules, including their latest developments, may provide room to deal with pandemic-induced trade-related issues, sustainable development goals, future crises and other existential threats to the multilateral trading system.

The book reinforces the importance of international cooperation and the pressing need to reinvigorate the world trading system. The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity for governments to rebuild the political will needed for such cooperation. One should never let a serious crisis go to waste.

Amrita Bahri is Assistant Professor of International Trade Law at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and Co-Chair Professor for the WTO Chair Program (Mexico). Amrita is the Founding Chair of the International Trade and Investment Law Research Group (Law Schools Global League, LSGL) and Founding Member of the South Asian International Economic Law Network (SAIELN). She has a PhD in International Trade Law from the University of Birmingham and an LLM in International Business Law from the London School of Economics.

Amrita has published in the areas of international trade law, WTO dispute settlement, public private partnership for capacity-building in emerging economies, regional trade and gender justice. She has authored the monograph Public Private Partnership for WTO Dispute Settlement: Enabling Developing Countries (2018). Her academic articles have been published in prestigious journals including the Journal of International Economic Law, World Trade Review, Journal of World Trade, Trade, Law & Development, Global Trade & Customs Journal, and the Journal of International Trade Law & Policy. Working with ITC's team, Amrita has designed the very first framework to measure gender-responsiveness of free trade agreements. She explains this framework in ITC's policy paper titled Mainstreaming Gender in Free Trade Agreements.

Gabrielle Marceau is Honorary Professor (Emeritus) at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She worked at the World Trade Organization Secretariat for over 30 years, serving as a legal adviser in international disputes, in the Cabinet of Director-General Pascal Lamy, and in the Economic Research
and Statistics Division.

Weihuan Zhou is Associate Professor, Director of Research, and an inaugural member of the Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre at the Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW Sydney, Australia.

His research explores the most current and controversial issues in the field of international economic law (IEL), particularly the nexus between international trade law and China. His work has appeared in all top journals in the field and in some of the best journals in the broader field of international law (such as the American Journal of International Law and International & Comparative Law Quarterly). His work has been cited widely, including in European Parliament briefings and reports of the Parliament of Australia and Australia's Productivity Commission, and by leading scholars in the field.

Dr Zhou has taken a number of senior roles internationally, including a former Executive Council Member and currently co-Secretary of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL). Dr Zhou is a qualified lawyer in Australia and consults for governments and major companies on trade remedy cases and other cross-border trade issues as well as general commercial and foreign investment matters.

Daria Boklan is Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia. She teaches WTO law, international environmental law and general international law.

Professor Boklan is the Chair of the International Trade and Investment Law Research Group of the Law Schools Global League and Convener of the Interest Group on International Environmental Law of the European Society of International Law. She has been a member of the expert group drafting the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. Professor Boklan has written two monographs and more than 50 academic articles, which have been published in prestigious journals such as the World Trade Review, Journal of World Energy and Business Law, Environmental Earth Science and the Russian Law Journal.