This study investigates how institutional interactions shape bilateral trade dynamics within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), focusing on product-level trade composition, diversification, and the role of governance. Despite regional integration efforts, ECOWAS has seen limited export diversification and modest intra-regional growth in trade. Using a gravity model and detailed bilateral trade data, the study examines how the combined governance quality of trading partners influences trade flows, extensive margins (products per partner, and partners per product), and intensive margins (trade volumes, values, and average value per product per partner). The analysis highlights governance complementarities as key drivers of trade structure within the region. Results show that regulatory quality between trading partners is associated with greater product concentration, while complementarities in political stability support broader geographic market reach across trading partners. Reciprocity effects are also observed in the case of political institutions, suggesting that governance alignment reinforces trade ties. Voice and accountability displays a complementarity effect on the average value per product per partner, deepening bilateral trade relationships. These findings highlight the importance of understanding governance and institutions coordination and the interplay in enhancing intra-ECOWAS trade integration and carry broader implications for regional efforts such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

The EU–Mercosur agreement is one of the longest and most complex trade negotiations in modern economic diplomacy. Launched in 1999 and finally concluded in December 2024, it offers a unique lens through which to understand trade negotiations in an era of geopolitical uncertainty, domestic contestation, and multilateral fragmentation. Drawing on the authors’ direct experience in trade policy and negotiation, this article argues that the agreement was not delayed because technical solutions were unavailable, nor concluded because underlying conflicts disappeared. Rather, it moved forward when changing international conditions increased the political value of closure for both sides. Agricultural sensitivities, sustainability concerns, competitiveness debates, and Mercosur’s internal coordination challenges remained. What changed was the cost of failing to reach an agreement. The case suggests that trade agreements today are no longer merely instruments of market access; they also serve as tools of strategic positioning, regulatory reassurance, and geopolitical signaling. In this context, uncertainty can become not only a constraint, but also a catalyst for cooperation and agreement

Critical minerals are at the centre of divergent state interests defined by developmental objectives, security objectives, energy transition, and sustainability imperatives. Unlike non-critical commodities, they exhibit heightened strategic importance but suffer from significant concentration of supply chains, notably in China. As securitization of trade reshapes global supply chains, governments are looking beyond traditional experiences with international commodity agreements, towards modernized tools of trade and investment cooperation to secure reliable critical mineral supplies. This article offers descriptive and analytical insights into the consequent non-binding international instruments on critical minerals, concluded by the most active participants in this topic: the United States, the EU, Japan, Canada, and Australia, who are amongst the largest demanders and suppliers of these minerals and are all economically developed. It finds that such instruments bear several potential systemic and institutional implications for rulemaking and governance in international trade, which include their ability to divert agency away from the resource rich, the concentration of norm creation and standard creation amongst a few, the phenomenon of ‘selective de-legalization’, and lack of transparency. By highlighting several trends and sources of potential concerns for commodity-dependent countries, this article urges a reassessment of this emerging framework advocating for the need to better balance state interests.

As digital connectivity expands and more services become tradable online, international trade is increasingly transitioning into the digital realm. Consequently, the regulatory environment facilitating digital trade has emerged as a central aspect of trade policy. Empirical research plays a vital role in informing the design, implementation, and reform of regulatory policies to facilitate trade in the digital era. However, such research heavily relies on the availability of up-to-date regulatory information across various countries. This paper introduces the Digital Trade Integration (DTI) database, which provides an overview of regulatory policies and practices expected to impact digital trade integration across 146 countries. These measures are organized into 65 indicators and 12 policy pillars covering restrictive and enabling policies. This paper highlights global and regional trends that are considered the four main components of digital trade integration: regulating (Information and Communication Technology) ICT goods, online services, investment in sectors relevant to digital trade, and data. The findings underscore the necessity for ongoing research and policy development to foster an equitable and integrated global digital economy.

Provisions prohibiting the mandatory disclosure of source code and algorithms as a condition for market access in digital trade rulemaking aim to prevent forced technology transfer and safeguard confidential business information. However, their proliferation raises significant concerns regarding the state’s capacity to regulate digital technologies, including artificial intelligence. This Article argues that their rapid diffusion signals a regime shift in the international protection of software and algorithms, from intellectual property (IP) law to digital trade law. Under the TRIPS framework, trade secrets primarily protect undisclosed confidential information, such as source code and algorithms, and offer limited protection at the point of market entry. Source code provisions in digital trade function as an ex-ante layer of protection that operates independently of, yet cumulatively with, existing IP rights. Because digital trade law lacks the internal balancing mechanisms characteristic of the IP regime, regulatory space is mediated principally through the design of exceptions and carve-outs. By situating these provisions against this background, this Article reframes current debates from regulatory chill to the governance consequences of this regime shift and contends that the design of source code exceptions and carve-outs is now the primary mechanism for balancing proprietary protection against legitimate public policy disclosure.