Simon Lester

Here's something from an op-ed by Senator, and Presidential hopeful, Ted Cruz, making the case for legislation he is co-sponsoring: ... as scientists and investors abandon the U.S., the FDA continues to prevent life-saving drugs from coming into the country. Take, for example, the multiple-

This is from the Washington Post, in the context of an article about how Donald Trump's recent statements are affecting his business activities: In the longer term, however, Trump could face problems. There have already been several worrisome harbingers for the Republican presidential candidate. This week, a major

Recall that in the U.S. - COOL arbitration proceeding over the amounts of suspension of concessions: Canada asked for $2.41 billion in retaliation; the U.S. has countered with $43.22 million. ... Mexico wants $713 million; the U.S. countered with $47.55 million The Arbitrator's decision

This is from the recent AB 21.5 report in Tuna: 7.32 ... Under Article 2.1, ... a complainant must show that, under the technical regulation at issue, the treatment accorded to imported products is less favourable than that accorded to like domestic products or like products originating in any

What is it with Canadian provincial restrictions on internal trade in beer? I blogged about one issue here. Now there's this: On Tuesday, the Alberta budget included an overall five per cent liquor tax increase on top of the 10 per cent increase introduced by the former Tory

This is from the U.S. statement at yesterday's DSB meeting, commenting on the Tuna 21.5 panel and Appellate Body reports: Panels and the Appellate Body should not make their conception of the “perfect” measure the enemy of all the possible good ones. In pursuing legitimate objectives,

From the European Commission: The European Union and Vietnam today finalised talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), marking the end of the negotiating process. After the agreement in principle reached in August, today’s announcement follows the successful resolution of the few remaining issues on the table. ... Vietnam has

With the AB's recent Tuna 21.5 report in mind, I think it's fair to say that the focus when analyzing less favorable treatment tends to be on the "stems exclusively from a legitimate regulatory distinction" element.  I agree that this element is crucial,

I am not as critical as Rob of the AB's Tuna 21.5 report, but I do have some concerns. Let me set them out briefly. First, the Appellate Body said the following about the standard it applies under TBT Article 2.1: 7.153. We have already

Earlier this year, I was speculating about a NAFTA Chapter 11 claim against a U.S. tax provision that had an impact on marijuana businesses, and more generally I've been wondering about ISDS challenges to marijuana regulation.  I thought the first such claim -- or rather, the intent to