International economic law and policy blog

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The New Agreement on Reciprocal Trade between the U.S. and Jordan

This is a guest post by Bashar Malkawi, Legal Counsel at The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department On July 21, 2026, the U.S and Jordan concluded and signed a new Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. Jordan has now officiated preferential access to the US market. The U.S has

Why Section 338 Does Not Work in a GATT/WTO World: Lessons from Trade Law History

On July 21, 2026, President Trump exercised his authority under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (hereinafter Section 338) to impose the maximum amount of additional tariffs (fifty per cent) on Canadian cars, alcohol, and dairy, owing to his determination of Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US exports.

A Brief Section 338 Reaction

Yesterday's announcement of Section 338 tariffs to be imposed on Canada was a bit of a surprise, although no tariff announcement can be too much of a shock these days.

EU WTO Reform Proposal Seeks To Extend Accession-Based State Enterprise Rules To All Members

In a new WTO reform paper entitled "Further Reflections on Disciplines, Subsidies and Industrial policy," the EU argues for stronger WTO disciplines on the behavior of state enterprises.

Thinking About the Trump Administration’s "Doctrine of Economic Statecraft"

Mohamed Aly El-Erian, a professor at the Wharton School who was chair of President Obama's Global Development Council, had a recent NY Times op-ed entitled "America Was Being Played. The Bessent Doctrine Says Those Days Are Over."

Stephen Miran on Optimal Tariffs

In a recent WSJ op-ed (which Julia Qin mentioned in the comments here), former Trump administration Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran makes the case for an "optimal tariff in the region of 10% to 40%."

How Are U.S. Goods Exports to Canada and Mexico Doing under Trump’s Trade Policies?

Previous posts on this blog have looked at trends in U.S. exports under the Trump administration’s trade policies, focusing on either specific categories of products or on the top U.S. trade partners. This post combines these two elements.

Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs

Last month, USTR made a determination in its Section 301 investigation into "Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor."

Remembering David Kleimann

The trade community mourns the loss of David Kleimann, a formidable trade expert and friend. David was most recently at S-Curve Economics, but also held posts at ODI, Bruegel, and Georgetown Law, among others. His research sat at the intersection of international trade law, EU external economic governance, and

How Should the EU Get Tough with China? Unilateral Action vs. WTO Complaints

I've seen several recent calls for the EU to get tougher in its economic relations with China, along with arguments that it has been too slow to act against the Chinese economic threat.