In the last decade, the number of new trade agreements has increased substantially and the next decade will likely see a similar level of expansion. At the same time, the multilateral trading system headed by the World Trade Organisation is being undermined and the level-playing field between States is distorted as a result.
The new generation of international trade and investment agreements increasingly governs and establishes norms of behaviour within and between States. Those norms go beyond commerce, affecting regulation and individual rights that transcend States.
Trade and investment agreements can be reached without the level of democratic scrutiny to which solely domestic (or European Union) norms, rules, and legislation are subject. While many States, recognising this, have sought to democratise the negotiating and ratification processes, many still lag behind. The Parliamentary Assembly should therefore call on member States’ parliaments to ensure that: