>The book The book explores the impact of WTO law on domestic regulatory autonomy. It
identifies and critically analyses the mechanisms working in WTO law that cause increasing
interferences with domestic law and thus restrain the regulatory autonomy of the WTO members.
The book proposes ways how WTO law be conceptualized to enhance the policy space of WTO
members. Therefore the book demonstrates the flexibilities in interpreting and applying WTO
core principles and provisions and explores interpretive and institutional conceptions that
could serve as a pathway of allocating greater policy leeway to WTO members. The analyses
presented address the disturbing observation that even though WTO law appreciates the
regulatory leeway of WTO members in several provisions across agreements the WTO judiciary¿s
case law but also other governance mechanism active in the WTO appear to narrow down the WTO
members¿ regulatory autonomy and to considerably limit the space for domestic policy choices.
Wide spread even scholarly perception of the WTO and most recently the Trump administration
blame the WTO in particular its dispute settlement branch for being biased towards free trade
and unduly restraining even legitimate domestic policies and voiding the domestic policy space
needed for addressing societal concerns and global problems. A closer look at the development
of GATT WTO law however reveals that in GATT era panels were aware of the effect their
interpretations had on domestic policy space and that some of the more recent WTO dispute
settlement reports show attempts to expand WTO member¿s leeway again. These observations are
the starting point for an indepth analysis of the different mechanisms present in WTO law which
impact on domestic regulation. The advantages at a glance Readers learn that WTO rules are
amenable for conceptualisations that enlarge domestic policy space get to know concrete
proposals insofar and understand the institutional preconditions for their implementation -
The author Wolfgang Weiss is Full Professor of Public Law European Law and Public
International Law at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer.
