Teaching Linkages

Abstract:     
The subject of linkages is the next logical step in growing movement to address the impact of international trade rules on other areas of the law formerly conceived of as either autonomous to international trade concerns or as purely domestic concerns. Conceiving of this set of issues as a coherent body of rules and theories is different from the traditional conception of the trade and problem which seeks to incorporate or privilege one or more traditionally non-trade issues within the multilateral or regional trading rules. The international economic law community has moved beyond the consideration of the individual relationships between trade and the environment, trade and competition, trade and intellectual property, trade and human rights as isolated phenomena vying for the attention of the trade community. Thinking about linkages requires the construction of new theories and teaching methods to show how the various trade and problems compare and contrast to each other and how linkages more generally challenge the trading system beyond the needs of any particular trade and constituency. This article lays out a small group exercise for an international trade law course to explore these issues effectively in an innovative and interactive format.

Keywords: international trade, linkages, trade and environment, trade and human rights, trade and competition, trade and intellectual property, trade and development, international economic law, WTO, World Trade Organization, GATT

JEL Classifications: A2, F02, F15, K33, N40, O19

Accepted Paper Series