WTO's information technology agreement (ITA) and its expansion (ITA II): multilateralizing regionalism

Abstract

Bearing in mind the complex context of the relationship between multilateralism and regionalism, the conclusion of plurilateral agreements within the WTO, open to participation of all interested members, offers a multilateral perspective of regionalism, in which the benefits of partial consensus are to be extended to the multilateral sphere. The ITA - Information Technology Agreement - is mentioned as an example of this possibility, and its recent expansion, through the negotiation of the ITA II, demonstrates the strengthening of this multilateralisation trend of regionalism, although with special features. Thus, this article is developed drawing the context and introduction of the theme of regionalism and multilateralism, and presents the theory of multilateralisation of regionalism and the ITA as one of those experiences, and its recent expansion as a resumption of the relevance of this theory. Considering the impasses for the conclusion of the Doha Round, the expansion of these partial consensus and the continuation of negotiations at the World Trade Organization by the conclusion of sectoral plurilateral agreements emerges as a possible way out, which demands a re-architecture of the interpretation of the role of the WTO in the global economic governance.