Global raw materials
governance is experiencing a paradigm shift. Long rooted in liberal trade norms
and multilateral enforcement, the liberal trading regime faces mounting
challenges from sovereignty-based strategies, legal defiance, and normative
fragmentation. Drawing on Peter Hall’s typology of policy change and Finnemore
and Sikkink’s model of norm emergence and internalization, this article frames
the shift as a multi-level process: moving from first-order policy adjustments
to second-order institutional strain, and ultimately to third-order
redefinitions of trade’s purpose and legitimacy. The article empirically
examines three sites of contestation: China’s rare earth export restrictions,
Indonesia’s rejection of WTO rulings on nickel (DS592), and the European
Union’s expanding use of non-binding Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in its
external raw materials strategy. While MoUs do not replace Economic Partnership
Agreements (EPAs), their normative focus on sustainability, value addition,
local processing, and negotiated sovereignty signals a strategic realignment
aimed at de-risking from China. This article uses process tracing and document
analysis to show how contested norms around development, sovereignty, and fair
trade reshape global trade instruments. It contributes to trade law and
international political economy by highlighting how soft law and strategic
diplomacy drive the emergence of a post-liberal resource governance regime.