Law and technology have a complex interdependent relationship. On the one hand, technological advances challenge the law and demand its adaptation; on the other hand, the regulatory environment is critical for technological innovation and its adoption by society, as well as the unfolding of its beneficial effects. In the highly connected contemporary world, this twin challenge goes beyond geographical boundaries and calls for transnational co-ordination and greater levels of regulatory co-operation. However, such co-operation is not easy to achieve, as domestic regulatory approaches can be profoundly different, reflecting different economic interests as well as deeper societal underpinnings. International economic law, centred around the rules of the World Trade Organization [WTO], has provided helpful ways of managing these divergencies over the years and has facilitated cross-border movement of goods, services, capital, and, to a lesser extent, people. Enhanced globalization has also fuelled newer technological advances in a variety of fields, such as information and communications technology [ICT], genetic engineering and bioscience, renewable energy, and environmental mechanics. Yet, and particularly in recent years, the WTO has struggled to accommodate the newly raised concerns of sovereign states and to reconcile their differences in the promotion of liberal trade. Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing technological environment, epitomized by far-reaching phenomena, such as the data-driven economy, several governance models have emerged as possible alternatives to multilateralism. This book addresses these new models with a rigorous and nuanced analysis. It explores in particular the recent mega-regional trade deals, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership [CPTPP], which not only seek to compensate for the lack of progress under the WTO but also effectively create new regulatory models for many economic sectors. After contextualizing this backdrop (Part I), the book examines trade in ICT goods and services (Part II), environmental and energy policy (Part III), food safety and public health (Part IV), and finally, intellectual property rights (Part V). The sixteen chapters present original work by the leading global experts in these discrete fields, and their analytical exercises critically explore the approaches taken by the mega-regionals, often with fascinating case-studies referring to a particular sector or a particular powerplay. They reveal that, while these new agreements may have addressed many WTO-plus and WTO-extra matters and the challenges triggered by technologies innovatively, their approaches are not optimal and may involve uncertainty and fragmentation that may present obstacles rather than solutions.

The book is ultimately an invaluable compilation of insights on the global governance of science and technology and its timing could not have been better. Although most of the chapters deal with the changes that the CPTPP has brought about, the book's discussions remain relevant—first, because the templates of the CPTPP have diffused, and second, because they inspire us to think of ways to improve the interplay between global economic law and technology. In this sense, the book is a must-read and can help both academics and policy-makers engage in more meaningful dialogues.