Trade in Agriculture

This chapter reflects on what effects regional trade agreements have on international agricultural trade regulation. It questions the established view that regional trade agreements indicate the further fragmentation of international trade law, and instead proposes a new theoretical perspective grounded on the notion of trade rules’ stability. Focusing on stability reveals new perspectives about how international agricultural trade rules function and why formal regulation seems unable to resolve ongoing political disagreements about the relationship between trade and non-trade values at the WTO. Questions about rules’ stability are not unique to international agricultural trade law and can be extended to reveal new challenges in all areas of international economic law.