International economic law and policy blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Sign in Subscribe

Latest — 26 Mar 2026

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.

My Top Three Suggestions for WTO Complaints against Chinese Non-Market Policies and Practices

In an exchange today at a House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and trade lawyer Kelly Ann Shaw expressed skepticism about the possibility of WTO rules being used to address various Chinese non-market policies and practices.

The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans

This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.

The Section 301 Surge Is Upon Us: Investigating Excess Capacity and Production

The first of a large batch of expected Section 301 investigations has arrived, as USTR announced yesterday that it was initiating investigations on acts, policies, and practices of various countries/economies "relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors."

The Divide Between the U.S. and Others on Trade Dispute Settlement

In a recent piece on USMCA dispute settlement, former U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Maria Pagan talks about a "divide between the United States and many others over state-to-state dispute settlement mechanisms," as follows: On the one hand, you have those who view state-to-state mechanism more like