Economic Integration in South Asia

Eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have conducted preferential trade agreements (PTAs) related to trade in goods and services. In this work, Islam (law, BRAC University) critically analyzes the state of intra-SAARC trade cooperation and examines the socio-political factors underlying the emergence of SAARC as an institution. He examines South Asian PTAs in the context of the global trade regime and evaluates them in light of lessons learned from PTAs conducted in others parts of the world. He also examines to what extent the South Asian PTAs comply with the rules of the WTO and international trade law, and looks at the features of the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS). He concludes with recommendations,appendices of SAFTA and SARC agreements, and lists of GATT/WTO cases and cases decided by other international bodies. Martinus Nijhoff is an imprint of Brill. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Md. Rizwanul Islam, Ph.D. (2011), Macquarie University, LL.M, National University of Singapore, LL.B. (Honours), University of Dhaka, is Assistant Professor of Law at BRAC University. He has published extensively on International Trade Law.