Regionalism in a Multilateral Trading System: Legal Interplays between the Eurasian Economic Union & the WTO

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the WTO, and identifies some of the legal obstacles to their effective co-existence. In doing so, the paper touches upon ways in which membership of the EAEU may interfere with that state’s position within the WTO and with its obligations under the WTO Agreements. By using selected examples, it illustrates that the legal relationship between the EAEU and the WTO is an ambiguous one, and one which deserves special attention. Starting point of this paper is a short overview of how regional trade agreements fit into the WTO structure in a general sense. It then discusses the process of deepening economic integration in the EAEU and the legal mechanisms through which Eurasian states have previously attempted to integrate trade with their partners in the region. A short stop will also be made at the institutional structure of the EAEU. The main body of the study delves into some of the legal interplays between the WTO and the EAU. It concludes with some thoughts and considerations as to whether the EAEU can be a building block for the WTO’s project of multilateral trade liberalisation.