I read that sentence as tongue-in-cheek. It's a jab at both the normal way of doing law and also the trade negotiators (they're still doing chicanery, just beh

I read that sentence as tongue-in-cheek. It's a jab at both the normal way of doing law and also the trade negotiators (they're still doing chicanery, just behind closed doors). The second part of the sentence also makes it seem like the author is laughing at the negotiators: whatever their scheming intentions, the plan blew up in their faces.