Financial Services Liberalization Under EU FTAs: The Case of Clearing and Settlement Services

This Chapter maps out how the liberalization of financial services in EU FTAs compares and contrasts with the multilateral trading system. The increasing importance of regional trade agreements in international economic law makes this exercise highly topical. This study assesses the liberalization depth of financial instruments’ clearing and settlement services in FTAs because of their prominence in the financial markets’ post-crisis reform. This Chapter’s findings indicate that the integration of financial services in EU FTAs goes beyond the threshold achieved at the WTO and that the EU strategically decides on what type of FTAs it pursues furthering the liberalization of financial services. In addition, the analysis reveals the existence of silos in WTO Member’s administrations between trade and finance teams.