Chapter 29 International rules and institutions for trade policy This chapter describes the basic structure of international trade agreements as they exist in practice explores theoretically the normative consequences of actual and alternative trade agreements and offers some theoretically based explanation for the structure of trade agreements. International trade agreements codify attempts by countries to mutually restrain the degree of trade intervention from what might otherwise obtain. Generally they include three basic elements: substantive obligations; permissible exceptions to those obligations; and enforcement mechanisms. Through the provisions of a trade agreement countries therefore typically agree to mutually restrain both their baseline levels of trade intervention and their use of special protection with the effectiveness of these restraints determined ultimately by the strength of the enforcement mechanisms in place. The chapter describes some of the major themes that characterize the behavior of trade intervention in their presence and discusses why and in what circumstances countries might wish to enter into international trade agreements. It also reviews the literature related to the collection of rules and institutions that define an international trade agreement and explains the issues of enforcement along with the process of multilateral and bilateral liberalization.