The EU and the US are at the origin of most international institutions and rules for both trade and finance, and both have long exported their preferred policies to the rest of the world. Today, this hegemonic position is increasingly challenged by the rise of new centres of economic power such as China, India and Brazil. This introductory article introduces the ‘supply-anddemand model of regulatory power' guiding this Special Issue and, drawing on the latter's contributions, illustrates the interplay between EU/US regulatory outreach and emerging economies' domestic politics in explaining the embracement or rejection of EU/US traderelated agendas.