International economic law and policy blog

Latest — 06 Apr 2026

It’s the End of the World (TO) as We Know it

Revealed Preferences Matter China, the EU (European Union), and the U.S. have in recent weeks all tabled in writing their views regarding the future of the WTO.[1] The end result should leave no one in doubt that coordination costs between the three dominant players in the trading sphere

Entrusting FTA Panel Assistance To an "External Body"

I was intrigued by a provision in the dispute settlement chapter of the recently released Australia-EU FTA text that contemplates administrative and legal support to a panel being provided by an "external body" rather than through the ad hoc arrangements that FTAs tend to use

Guest Post: Carbon Borders Without Differentiation: Why India's Challenge Tests the European Union’s Climate Diplomacy

This is a guest post from Bhavya Johari, a Lecturer at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University As the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) enters its definitive phase, India confronts a fundamental challenge to differentiated responsibility under the Paris Agreement. With default values

European Parliament Cites GATT Article XXI as Justification for Trade Deal with U.S.

Last year, I raised the issue of how the security concerns of certain governments were a crucial factor in their trade negotiations with the U.S., with the Ukraine war and the U.S.-EU trade negotiations as my focus.

Guest Post: Are We One Step Away from a Ministerial Decision to Incorporate the IFD Agreement into Annex 4?

This is a guest post from Antoine Comont (University of Bordeaux, Laval Universiy). Adopted the 13th February 2024, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) was the subject of a draft decision for incorporation into Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi.

What Value Does the U.S. See In an E-Commerce Duty Moratorium in the Absence of Effective Enforcement through the DSU?

One of the big issues the U.S. is pushing at MC14 is a permanent extension of the WTO's moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. In a recent statement at a General Council meeting related to preparations for MC14, the U.S. said: Intervention on the Moratorium

The Trump and Biden Administrations' Proposals on the WTO Security Exceptions

In a communication posted on the WTO website yesterday, entitled "Further Perspectives on WTO Reform," the U.S. calls for an authoritative interpretation of the WTO security exceptions to make clear that "[i]n any dispute in which a Member invokes the essential security exception, a WTO

NAFTA and Mortality

There's a recent economics working paper called "Trading Goods For Lives: NAFTA’s Mortality Impacts And Implications" that is getting some attention. The NY Times did a piece on it under the headline "‘A Lot of Life Years Lost’: How NAFTA Shortened American Life Spans.

NCITD International Trade Scholarship Program

This is from the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD): The National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) is proud to continue its longstanding scholarship program supporting students pursuing careers in international trade. Each year, NCITD awards scholarships to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at accredited U.S.

Comparing the Digital Trade Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

My series of posts comparing specific provisions across the Trump administration's Agreements on Reciprocal Trade got interrupted, but let me get back to it now, with a focus on certain digital trade provisions in the nine agreements for which we now have the full legal text.