More than FTAs, what "flanks" them may be determinant!

For trade negotiators, the provisions of the agreement are critical in assessing its impact and scope. The binding language, intent and meaning are discussed and debated over hours. A "shall" or "may) can derali a negotiation!

Came across this article on something the authors called "flanking" measures to FTAs which are instruments that accompany an FTA (not part of the main provisions of the agreement) but are crucial in interpreting and addressing concerns that parties have on the agreement. Noémie  Laurens,  Christian  Winkler  and  Cédric  Dupont writing in the Review of International Political Economy outline the scope and impact of these flanking measures. Sweetening  the  liberalization  pill:  flanking  measures  to  free  trade  agreements  discusses the various instruments that accompany FTAs that serve a particular purpose - soften the blow FTAs may have on domestic interests.

The authors define the scope of flanking measures:

 Our  conception  of  flanking  as  the  adoption  of  an  additional  instrument  outside  of  the  initiating  treaty  is  driven  by  the  original  meaning  of  the  verb  ‘flank’  (i.e.  to  be  at  the  side  of  something)  as  well  as  the  French-language  equivalent,  ‘mesures  d’accompagnement’  (accompanying  measures),  originally  used  in  the  EU-Switzerland  context.  However,  we  acknowledge  that  flanking  measures  can  take  different  positions  on  the  inside-outside  continuum. For  instance,  the  CETA  Joint  Interpretative  Instrument,  while  located  ‘outside’  the  treaty,  deals  with  the  application  of  ‘inside’  provisions,  which  makes  it  closer  to  the  ‘inside’  end  than  general  domestic  measures,  such  as  the  TAA.  Moreover,  flanking  measures’  position  on  the  continuum  may  be  dynamic  over  time.  For  example,  the  NAFTA  side  agree-ments  on  the  environment  and  labor  have  later  been  incorporated  into  the  main  text  of  subsequent  US  FTAs.

What are the motivations for these flanking measures? Why can't they be regular provisions in FTAs instead of sui generis instruments? As the authors argued, the deeper the agreements get, will there be more such measures to address concerns of shrinking of policy space? What impact do these flanking measures have on dispute settlement and interpretation of the agreement? Is it a way of getting an FTA through the finishing line? It si important that negotiators are aware that such measures are available in their toolkit to engage in constructive negotiations when deadlocks are imminent and progress is slow. Overall, a very educative piece on what is happening in the FTA space.