Mitigating the rise of unilateralism: lessons from forestry management

This article responds to the rise in unilateralism in trade policy (particularly from the EU and USA) and considers how its negative effects, especially concerning developing countries, can be mitigated through the use of instruments of trade law in the practice of economic diplomacy. It does this in three steps: first, it challenges the dichotomy between unilateral and plurilateral approaches to trade policy, and reframes this rise in unilateralism as conceptually and practically linked to the increasing plurality of trade law’s actors, sources, and institutions (the plural-unilateral dynamic); second, trade in forest products is used as a case study to examine this dynamic, identifying underlying tensions in the use of unilateral and plurilateral policies as well as potential mechanisms of accommodation; finally, in step three, the article identifies two related avenues of accommodation to improve participation and engagement—leveraging structures of meta-governance in trade (dialogues, committees, and standards bodies). In doing so, this article both reframes debates around unilateralism and plurilateralism in trade law and policy, and places the hitherto underexplored practice of economic diplomacy at the heart of means to improve trade relations.