Book excerpt: 'Are Preferential Trading Agreements building blocks or stumbling blocks? Most economists are skeptical of their benefits, but politicians and bureaucrats evidently like them. This timely and rich contribution to the debate, by an eminent group of economists and lawyers, assesses the issues with reference to the Australia-China negotiations. Importantly, if we are in a second-best world, the authors show clearly how to at least minimize the negative impacts of PTAs. A must-read for policymakers, practitioners, business people and academics.' - Hal Hill, the Australian National University