Rules of Origin as Trade or Foreign Policy Instruments? The European Union Policy on Products Manufactured in the Settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

This Article aims to shed some light on linkage between rules of origin and territorial disputes, and to analyze the alternative approaches available to policy makers in such cases. The choice between these alternatives is closely related to the broader subject of the interrelationships between international trade law and politics, which this Article will also address. It should be emphasized at the outset that this Article does not aim to address the substantive territorial disputes regarding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (nor the legality of the settlements located therein), Western Sahara, Taiwan, Northern Cyprus, or other disputed territories. The aim here is, rather, to explore the link between the particular position undertaken by a State (or an economic bloc) regarding the status of the disputed territory and the rules of origin applied to products manufactured in that territory.