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Simon Lester

Simon Lester

Co-founder of WorldTradeLaw.net and China Trade Monitor. Non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute.

http://simonlester.com

Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser for the Department for International Trade

The position is now open. Here are the details: Job descriptionThere can be few more vital or unique roles at this exciting and challenging time for the UK than that of Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser (also Second Permanent Secretary) of the new Department for International Trade (DIT). To support the

Pharmaceutical Prices in the U.S. and Abroad

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this statement from Donald Trump about pharmaceutical prices: TRUMP: I think you know most of my team and you folks have done a terrific job over the years, but we have to get prices down for a lot of reasons. We

Regulatory Barriers in a US - UK FTA

Prime Minister Theresa May was here in DC on Friday to talk to President Donald Trump, and a US-UK trade agreement was one of the items they discussed: At the top of the agenda is trade, as the two leaders try to navigate the U.S.-U.K. relationship.

A Border Tax to Pay for the Wall?

My head is spinning trying to keep track of what is real and what is just rhetoric. Here is more from Trump's press secretary: It was not clear exactly how the Trump administration would impose the new tax on Mexican exports. But Spicer said it would be part

The Trading Together Declaration

This is from a group of European academics, from more than 15 countries, who "set out their belief that a more critical reflection is needed on what an effective and democratic decision-making process in the EU requires": TRADING TOGETHER For strong and democratically legitimized EU international agreements

Requiring Keystone XL (and Others) To Use Domestic Steel

From Reuters: President Trump today signed executive actions to accelerate the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects and to decree that American steel should be used for pipelines built in the United States. I want to see the precise language of the requirement (should be available later today), but

The TPP as a Series of Bilateral Trade Agreements

This is from the Australian Parliament web site: Twelve countries are involved in the TPP negotiations but most market access issues are negotiated at a bilateral level—that is, country to country. And here are some specifics from a CRS report: Negotiating the terms of agricultural trade liberalization within the

Sean Spicer on Trump's Trade Agenda

For those of you trying to figure out where the Trump administration is going with trade policy, here are a few tidbits from Sean Spicer (the White House press secretary) at yesterday's press conference: QUESTION: (inaudible) news. After the executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the TPP,

The TPP Presidential Memo

Here it is: Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE SUBJECT: Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement It is the policy of my Administration to represent the American people

Executive Trade Actions

I haven't seen the presidential memo yet, but Inside US Trade reports: President Trump on Jan. 23 signed a presidential memo formally withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, assuring the Obama administration's flagship trade agreement will not come into force as negotiated and