Introduction

Cross-regional trade agreements have been a defining trend of the current international trade system. The challenges of comprehending the full implications of new cross-regionalism lie, first, in the increasingly blurred boundaries of its multiple levels of analysis. The second set of transformations in governance associated with new cross-regionalism has to do with the growing range of stakeholders affected by or directly affecting the trade policymaking process. This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book focuses on the political and economic governance of new cross-regionalism by focusing on the characteristics and stakes of a few initiatives that span most continents and most notably Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It also analyzes the coordination failure displayed by the United States and European Union in the financial regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.