Suchergebnisse

While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) relaunched negotiations on ASEAN-EU FTA in 2017, few signs have indicated significant progress in trade talks and EU has been prompted to pursue, in parallel, bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with individual ASEANMembers States as building blocks for the region-to-region megaproject. The underlying divergence in economic, political, historical, and social dimensions between ASEAN and EU has continued to condition bi-regional negotiations, and issues of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) are of particular importance given the large inter-regional agri-food trade and inherent tensions embedded in SPS measures that are adopted to strike a balance between trade liberalization and public health. Whether and how the two blocs can reconcile different interests and policy agendas in shaping SPS cooperation under the prospective FTA merits in-depth examination. This article analyses the trajectory and dynamics in ASEAN-EU SPS cooperation. It assesses the SPS Chapters of the EUSingapore and EU-Vietnam FTAs, drawing on their relevance to and implications for region-to-region development. Lastly, this article highlights various bottom-up SPS cooperation initiatives between the two—due to EU's technical assistance, and more critically, ambition to export its normative paradigms globally—emphasizing their role as catalyst for deeper region-to-region SPS cooperation.
ASEAN-EU FTA, EU-Singapore FTA, EU-Vietnam FTA, SPS Agreement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, New Asian Regionalism

Abstract
The interface between science and law has been much debated in various fields of international law and the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been one of the main forums. Notably, WTO disputes, such as EC – Hormones and EC – Biotech, have drawn controversies and criticisms over the role of science in WTO law. Korea – Radionuclides – also known as the Fukushima case – calls upon us to reconsider an under-analysed perspective regarding science and law. While the Fukushima accident marked the first massive radionuclide release into the ocean with significant uncertainties and complexities, Korea – Radionuclides did not touch upon any 'science-based' obligations under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). Thus, it stands out as a unique dispute in the 25 years of the SPS case law. This article unpacks Korea – Radionuclides, challenging and rethinking the assumed dichotomy between science-based and non-science-based obligations under the SPS Agreement. Our critical examination of Korea – Radionuclides suggests that science plays an important role even in the discussions of non-science-based obligations. In contrast to the conventional wisdom of the science/non-science dichotomy, we further argue that the normative integrity and raison d'être of the SPS Agreement in fact rest upon the inextricable nexus and integration between science-based and non-science-based obligations.