The International Law Institute established the International Trade Law Center (Trade Center) to help counties effectively participate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). More than 160 governments have signed the agreement establishing the WTO, committing to comply with a large body of rules, regulations, and procedures. RTAs, which account for an ever-increasing portion of world trade, have their own sets of complex rules.

Every country expecting to gain the benefits of WTO membership and of RTAs will be expected to comply with their obligations and implement them effectively through changes to their domestic laws, institutions, and administrative practices. Additionally, each country will need to take steps, when necessary, to ensure compliance by other countries.

The Trade Center provides advice on establishing the legal and administrative structures necessary to comply with these obligations as well as on issues relating to dispute resolution.

Through the Trade Center, the International Law Institute provides training seminars entitled Multilateral and Regional Trade Agreements; and The Trade Facilitation Agreement & Other Important Customs Issues, Negotiation of Trade Agreements in addition to customized training and technical assistance. Each program is designed with reference to the legal institutions, the level of legal development, and the specific needs and challenges of the country the program is designed to assist.   The trainers include past and present government officials, practitioners, and academics.

PAST PROJECTS OF THE TRADE CENTER INCLUDE:

• Training more than 250 Chinese judges on WTO
• Assisting the Chinese Central Bank in revising China’s banking laws and regulations to comply with China’s commitments on joining the WTO
• Advising the Government of Armenia on compliance with its WTO commitments
• A six-week, Joint Certificate Training Program on International Trade and Investment offered in collaboration with the Indian National Association of Legal Professionals (INALP)
• Several training courses a year since 2002 in trade agreement monitoring and compliance for U.S. diplomats at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute
• A six-month training program for 130 Chinese lawyers focusing on trade and commercial law
• A six-month training program focused on international economic trade law for a delegation of Vietnamese lawyers from the Ministry of Justice
  
• Training for a group of Rwandan judges on the WTO
• A high-level conference on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

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