The Regional Remaking of Trade and Investment Law

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are reshaping the international regime on trade and investments. This is not because they establish new forms of liberalizing or diverting trade and investment. It is rather that narratives are deployed to justify their government. These narratives derive their force from setting out what the vocation of government requires. However, in turn, they inform the remit of the RTA by setting out its mission. In this, they inform its sectors of activity, the types of regulation and rule adopted it, its approach to migration and how it handles distributive conflicts generated by its norms.