Simon Lester

Here's another obscure TPP issue I've been following: Will there be a requirement that TPP countries adopt a minimum wage? Article 19.3 of the labor chapter says the following: 2. Each Party shall adopt and maintain statutes and regulations, and practices thereunder, governing acceptable conditions

The TPP text is now available here, among other places.  My understanding is that this is not the "legally scrubbed" text, but it should be virtually identical to the final version. Analyzing the TPP should keep us all busy for the next year or so.  I'll

Here is the European Commission's request for an ECJ opinion on the issue of who has competence to sign and conclude the EU-Singapore FTA (with implications for CETA and future trade agreements): Request for an opinion submitted by the European Commission pursuant to Article 218(11) TFEU (Opinion

Inside US Trade reports that the TPP countries are "aiming to make public" the final TPP text "before the end of this week": One source close to the negotiations said he now expected the text to be released on Friday (Nov. 6) ... The text that will

Apparently, TransCanada has suspended its application for a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.  Here's the WSJ: The company behind the Keystone XL pipeline on Monday asked the U.S. government to suspend its permit application, throwing the politically fraught project into an indefinite state of limbo, beyond

There is going to be lots of discussion about the TPP in the coming months. This event at the International Law Institute looks like it will be a good one:   PROGRAM:       The conference will discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from a variety of perspectives - the Executive and Congressional branches,

The notice of appeal is here. Panama, the complainant, "won" the case, but ended up with a finding that did not achieve its goals, so it appealed. This is potentially one of the most interesting GATS cases I've seen.  It is sort of like the counterpart

I know that at least two of you readers out there have been keeping an eye on tit for tat WTO disputes.  Here's another. On May 7 of this year, Russia requested consultations with Ukraine in Ukraine - Anti-Dumping Measures on Ammonium Nitrate . And now on October 21,

This is from the explanation of TPP ISDS by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: The safeguards in TPP, which protect the New Zealand Government’s right to regulate and which seek to prevent unwarranted ISDS claims, include: ... The Government is expressly permitted to make a counterclaim

Here's the abstract of an article by law professor Timothy Meyer: International negotiations struggle to keep pace with global problems like climate change. To fill this gap, local governments increasingly take matters into their own hands. For example, to promote the benefits of clean energy, a local government