A Cross-cutting Legal Analysis of the European Union Preferential Trade Agreement's Chapters on Sustainable Development: Further Steps towards the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals?

According to the 2030 Agenda ‘international trade is an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development’. Against this background, the contribution offers a legal analysis of the trade and sustainable development chapters included in the more recent preferential trade agreements (PTAs) concluded by the European Union (EU). The stalemate in the WTO Doha Development Round, the active stance played by the EU in the creation of the current network of PTAs, and the emphasis placed on sustainable development by the EU Treaties are the premises of the analysis. Its main purpose is to assess to what extent the TSD chapters under EU PTAs offer a viable support to the attainment of the SDGs. After an introduction on relevant EU primary law, the chapter is articulated in three sections, covering the relationship between EU PTAs and multilateral environmental agreements, the recognition of the parties’ right to regulate in environmental matters and the enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms enshrined in the TSD chapters.