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Addressing The Negative Externalities Of Trade: Flanking Policies And The Role Of Package Treaties, Gregory Shaffer

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article examines the rationales for addressing sustainability and social inclusion in trade policy and the tradeoffs among imperfect institutional choices in doing so through “flanking policies.” It examines three types of negative spillovers or externalities implicated by trade: material, moral, and social/political. Part I defines terms and sets forth the argument. Part II typologizes the three categories of negative externalities and then highlights the challenges posed for flanking measures given the reciprocal nature of externalities. It respectively addresses environmental harms and labor and social inclusion concerns. Part III assesses different institutional choices for addressing negative externalities, dividing them between …