''There is little doubt that a sustainability revolution in global production patterns is needed.''

Once seen as aspirational and relatively innocuous, 'sustainability' provisions are now changing the face of international trade agreements. The Sustainability Revolution in International Trade Agreements gathers fundamental, first-hand analyses of these novel commitments across dozens of agreements, considering their legal, political, and economic aspects.

It evaluates the development challenges that sustainability requirements pose for countries with limited resources and capacity, for whom lower labour and environmental regulatory costs have been a competitive asset.

The book explores the intersectional aspects of sustainability - such as gender equality, biodiversity, animal welfare, and Indigenous rights - in addition to the more traditional dimensions of sustainability, namely economic development, environmental conservation, and improvement of labour standards.
 

Editors

Geraldo Vidigal is Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and is the Managing Editor of Legal Issues of Economic Integration (Kluwer). He integrates the roster of dispute settlement panellists of the World Trade Organization, where he was previously a Dispute Settlement Lawyer, and of the European Union (for trade as well as sustainable development).

Kathleen Claussen is Professor of Law at Georgetown University. She is the author of more than 40 articles and essays concerning trade, investment, and international dispute settlement, among other related research areas. She has also acted as counsel or arbitrator in over two dozen international disputes.