The legality of bailouts and buy nationals: international trade law in a crisis

This book assesses the legality of the bailout and buy-national measures that were implemented during the 2008-2012 fiscal crisis in the US, Brazil, India and three EU Member States – the UK, Ireland and Germany. It seeks to understand how international trade law negotiated in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and regional trade agreements operated to prevent unilateral protectionism, under their most significant stress test since their negotiation. The book follows a competition approach, identifying the gaps and weaknesses of the international and regional rules that are designed to prevent governments from implementing measures that distort the competitive process. The book examines levels of compliance and the enforcement of these international trade rules. It provides a further understanding about when and why governments chose to obey international trade law. It opines that as all legal systems face a multitude of challenges that demand flexibility, the requisite flexibility needs to be coordinated and cooperative if it is to avoid undermining the legitimacy and very objectives of the rules themselves. The book concludes with suggestions for improving the existing legal frameworks to better regulate crisis measures in the form of bailouts and buy nationals from a competition perspective. This should benefit the economy and citizens - as both tax payers and consumers.