Simon Lester

The Trump campaign released an Economic Plan today. On trade, they raise one issue that has been of concern to respected trade policy people and has been lingering for quite a while: Ending the Unequal Value-Added Tax Treatment Under WTO Rules In addition to the obvious problem of relatively

This is the abstract of a new paper by Lorand Bartels: It has become conventional wisdom that once the UK leaves the EU it will have to renegotiate core aspects of its WTO rights and obligations, and in particular its concessions under Article II of the GATT 1994 and Article

After a bit of a lull, three potentially interesting new WTO complaints were filed recently. Here's a brief rundown. First up is a complaint by India focusing on various U.S. state renewable energy programs that have domestic content requirements. Are there any creative new defenses that can

Is it fair to say that the UK leadership is having some trouble figuring out what to do with Brexit? Yes, I think that's fair. But at least they are talking to the right people. The UK parliament recently brought in some experts to advise on the technical

Today's India - Solar Cells Appellate Body report is the second report in a row with a separate opinion (could be a record -- I'll have to check).  This separate opinion is a little different, as it does not relate to a particular legal finding, but rather to

Via Inside U.S. Trade, Congressman Levin and Senator Wyden are upset with the WTO Secretariat about its recent Report on G20 Trade Measures. Here's an excerpt from the letter they sent to WTO DG Roberto Azevedo: We are deeply disappointed that the Secretariat of the WTO has

This is from a dissenting opinion in today's Appellate Body report in U.S. - Washing Machines, with the dissenter arguing that zeroing should be permitted in the context of "pattern" transactions under the second sentence of AD Agreement Article 2.4.2: 5.1.10 Separate

The polls are tightening a bit (gulp), but it still seems likely that Hillary Clinton will be the next U.S. President. If that happens, the choices for who in her administration runs trade policy will be very important. Roughly speaking, I would say the Democratic Party includes three views

From Monday's DSB meeting: Chair's statement on Appellate Body matters The DSB Chair, Ambassador Xavier Carim (South Africa), reminded delegations that the deadline for nominations of candidates to fill the vacancy left by the non-reappointment of Mr Seung Wha Chang is 14 September 2016. He