La disciplina delle state-owned enterprises nel diritto del commercio internazionale tra stallo degli accordi commerciali multilaterali e accordi preferenziali di nuova generazione

States-owned enterprises (SOEs) have for long constituted, and are likely to remain, an important instrument in any government’s toolbox for a variety of economic, public and societal goals. However, the significant extent of state ownership among the world’s top companies and their hybrid nature raise the issue of their impact on international trade. The article addresses the question of how multilateral and preferential trade agreements (PTAs) discipline SOEs with a view to guaranteeing the international contestability of markets, while, at the same time, allowing governments to provide support to SOEs that deal with market failures and provide public goods. The argument is developed in three main parts. The first briefly outlines the main reasons why increasingly numerous international legal instruments ttempt to regulate SOEs. The second assesses how WTO agreements deal with the potential trade effects of SOEs and highlights the main shortcomings of the multilateral trade discipline. The third part analyses the provisions on SOEs of the most recent PTAs negotiated — and under negotiations — by the USA and the EU. Against such backdrop, the article formulates a number of conclusions on the substance and the procedure of the international trade regulations of SOEs. The main inference is that the search for binding rules has not led yet to a balanced and effective regime.