Utilization of Plurilateral Agreements and Its Limitation: Contribution to trade rules (Japanese)

Due to the expansion and diversification of the WTO membership, the complexity and conflict of economic interests, and the rise of economic security demands, consensus-based rulemaking in the WTO has become both stagnant and chaotic, and concerns about unilateral measures and protectionism are increasing. In this environment, since 2018, the WTO has been drawing attention to the importance of plurilateral agreements under the JSI (Joint Statement Initiative), which has produced certain results. It is also no exaggeration to say that all trade agreements since the inception of the WTO have been based on plurilateral agreements. This paper focuses on the importance of plurilateral agreements, discussing the background to the attention paid to plurilateral agreements, their definitions and extensions, the conditions and factors for their realization, their contribution to WTO rules and the path to multilateralization, and their potential and limitations, based on analyses of actual cases. The current status and future issues facing JSI and WTO decision-making will also be touched upon.