On 30 September 2026, the Rio School on Global Governance, Democracy and Human Rights was honored to welcome Josephine Norris, a Member of the Legal Service (WTO and International Trade policy team) at the European Commission and a Professor at the Brussels School of Governance, VUB. The course is held by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and directed by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida.

In her lecture, moderated by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Ms. Norris discussed how the EU is addressing contemporary global trade by regulating along value chains and assessed the following dilemma: how do you regulate a global regulator? She began by conceptualizing ‘global value chains’ and the trade in value added inputs which are shaped by economic efficiency but also potentially regulatory arbitrage.  In particular, the EU, as one of the largest destination markets in the world, has adopted a model of global value chain regulation, as it has the power to promote certain values through the regulation of its market. However, entities in third countries exporting to the EU are affected by the rules, so their impact extends beyond EU borders.

Ms. Norris then analyzed the controversy sparked by these regulations. While the EU claims that this is an internal environmental regulation, some WTO members hold that it is a trade restriction. From the perspective of international organizations law, this raises questions of accountability: how can third parties hold the regulator responsible for the impact over the rules it created and shape their development? The WTO adjudication system is increasingly fragmented now, so states and other operators have been exploring other fora to raise concerns, such as the CJEU, investment arbitration, the advisory jurisdiction of the ICJ and human rights courts. However, each of these options has limitations meaning diplomacy remains important. In the absence of a single mechanism to challenge a rule, the question is whether this fragmentation is a weakness or whether ultimately it creates more opportunities for accountability for a broader spectrum of actors.

We extend our sincere thanks to Josephine Norris for this insightful session. We look forward to further collaboration.