Is there Coherence on the Role of Sub-National Actors in the Evolving Mechanisms for International Trade Interactions? A Comparative Analysis of Belgium and Canada

The attached paper was developed as a conference proceeding presented at the 2016 SIEL Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The paper examines the evolving role of sub-national actors in international trade interactions, focusing on Belgium and Canada as two federal systems that have adopted distinct approaches to incorporating sub-national participation into trade governance. Using a comparative analysis, it explores whether coherent themes can be identified in the ways sub-national governments engage with international trade processes, despite differences in domestic constitutional design and institutional practice. The central argument of the paper is that, although Belgium and Canada differ significantly in the degree of formalisation and institutionalisation of sub-national participation, both cases reveal an emerging pattern of stronger intergovernmental cooperation in response to the expanding reach of international economic agreements. In this sense, the working paper contributes to broader debates on federalism, international trade governance, and the changing role of sub-national actors in international economic relations. It was further developed into a full length paper published in the Global Journal of International and Comparative Law.