There has been little substantial progress in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiation. Although the WTO has achieved a significant success in its dispute settlement mechanism, it has failed in crafting new rules so as to respond the needs of international business and globalized markets. Confronted with this situation, more countries have shifted to conclude many Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Recently, there is a trend toward negotiating Mega FTAs, such as the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) (RCEP). Although Mega FTAs have their own limitations and problems as opposed to the WTO multilateral trading system, the new rules created by these instruments indeed represent a paradigm shift in international economic law rule-making. In this semester, we will center on new issues in the context of Mega FTAs, in particular TPP.
Tentative topics to be discussed are as follows:

1. The rise of Mega-FTAs and the future role of WTO in governance of trade law order
2. The formation of FTA under GATT Article XXIV: WTO-plus and Non-plus aspects
3. State-owned Enterprise Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
4. Trade Remedy Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
5. Intellectual Property Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
6. SPS Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
7. Environment Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
8. Labour Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
9. Dispute Settlement Chapter (with Negotiation simulation exercise)
10. New Membership Issues (with Negotiation simulation exercise)