The trading world’s appetite for bilateral and/or regional trade agreements appears to be insatiable. And Australia has been part of it.Dr Francesco Duina, a sociologist at Bates College in the US, has examined the reasons behind this development. As a preamble, he informs us that, between 1990 and 1994, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was notified of 33 new agreements. Between 1995 and 2000, another 100 were added to the list.Some, of course, preceded the WTO – most notably, back in 1957, th…
