ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the relationship between Plurilateral Trade Agreements (PTA) and global value chains, and that between PTAs and multilateral trade liberalization. A value chain is a series of steps over which a company attempts to generate value that exceeds the cost of supplying its product to customers. As the assumption on which the theorem is founded is unrealistic, the theorem is of limited value in explaining the relationship between PTAs and multilateral trade liberalization. Empirical literature on the relationship between PTAs and multilateral trade liberalization is more supportive of the former as building blocks for the latter than as stumbling blocks. The EU-Canada BTA’s comprehensive treatment of intellectual property rights adds much value for its Parties over and that which international trade law provides. The EU-Canada BTA adds considerable value for its Parties beyond that which international trade law supplies.
