International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Will "Post-Neoliberalism" Mean Unfettered Markets or Unfettered Industrial Policy? (Or Are We Post-"Post-Neoliberalism" Now?)

There has been a lot of talk over the past eight years about whether we are now in a period of "post-neoliberalism," with efforts to flesh out exactly what that means for economic policy. To some extent, it even seemed as though there was an alliance between those

Foreign Savings and U.S. Budget Deficits

In the context of expressing concern with trade imbalances, a recent piece by Michael Pettis and Erica Hogan argues that high foreign savings in some countries (e.g. China and Germany) is linked to the growing U.S. fiscal deficit (among other things): The global trade system is broken. Current

Will Trump's Early Tariffs Be Used To Fight Digital Regulatory Barriers?

CNN reports that some of Trump's early tariffs might be used to fight foreign digital regulations: The campaign has commissioned its own studies on the economic impact of these tariffs, with levies not far below the levels Trump has suggested, according to people familiar with the effort. Some

Guest Post: Reining in the Foreign Subsidies Regulation through international investment law

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Victor Crochet and law professor Bin Ye 1. Comes the Foreign Subsidies Regulation The European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation entered into force a year ago. It grants the European Commission far reaching power to screen mergers and acquisitions as well as

What To Look For In a Trump II Trade Policy

It has only been a few hours since the election results came in, so at this point I have lots of questions but few answers as to what the incoming Trump administration will do on trade policy. Here are a few of the questions. Personnel Who will Trump put in

Conference on “Navigating the Future: Industrial Policy and Global Competitiveness”

Centre for International Trade and Business Laws, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in collaboration with World Trade Institute, University of Bern and Centre for Trade and Investment Law (IIFT) and The WTO Chairs Programme in India is organising International Conference on “Navigating the Future: Industrial Policy and Global Competitiveness” on

Beggar-Thy-Neighbor vs. Protectionism as Frameworks for the Trading System

In a recent piece, Dani Rodrik argues that current global trading rules interfere too much with domestic regulation and that "the world economy desperately needs a clear normative framework to determine the rules of the road." In this regard, he distinguishes between two options: (1) "policies with

Jake Sullivan on the International Economic Agenda, Part 2

In April 2023, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gave a speech at Brookings on the Biden Administration's international economic agenda, and I had some comments in response. Yesterday, Sullivan returned to Brookings to, as the event page describes it, "reflect on the progress and challenges

Do Foreign Digital Regulations "Discriminate" against U.S. Firms? The Case of Korea

Just about everybody agrees that "non-discrimination" is a core principle of the trading system, but what exactly do we mean by it? What is the role of intent and effect? Governments who feel like their companies are being hurt by a foreign regulation often focus on the effect,

More (and More and More) Trump on Tariffs

As I mentioned last week, Trump constantly talks about tariffs, but that hasn't led to voters thinking of tariffs and trade as a top policy issue. After I did my post, Trump gave an interview in which he talked about tariffs even more than usual. (Normally I provide