Simon Lester

For those of you interested in the India - Solar Cells WTO dispute (DS456), Indian attorney Srikanth Hariharan has offered some commentary. Two things to note.  First, I couldn't make his footnotes come through. And second, I haven't thought about the case yet, and I'm

As many of you probably know, there is lots of talk these days about free trade in environmental goods.  APEC has a list of such goods on which tariffs are to be removed, and President Obama has proposed a tariff-lowering agreement at the WTO. But there's a

Having just mentioned PPMs in WTO law the other day, I was excited to see the same issue arise under U.S. law, in relation to a California law governing egg production.  Here's the WSJ explaining the issue in an editorial: Animal-rights activists have been lobbying Congress

Indonesia has requested authorization to suspend concessions or other obligations in the Clove Cigarettes dispute: The United States failed to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB with respect to Section 907(a)(1)(A) by the end of the reasonable period of time, and no mutually acceptable arrangement

Former AB Member Jennifer Hillman has a new paper on carbon taxes and WTO rules. Some excerpts: Can such a carbon tax be applied in a way that does not violate U.S. obligations under the WTO Agreements? I believe the answer is yes, provided that policymakers carefully design such

Back in February, I wondered whether Samsung could file an investor-state complaint -- under the KORUS FTA -- in the event that some of its components were excluded from the U.S. through a Section 337 determination.  Recent developments in this area now offer up another possible complaint. As everyone probably

The 2013 SIEL essay prize competition is now open: The competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of any university or other tertiary education institution, and those who have graduated from a university or other tertiary education institution no earlier than five years before the submission deadline

From a dissenting opinion on the issue of document confidentiality in the Telefonica v. Mexico ICSID case: 3. The majority's decision establishes, de facto, a presumption of confidentiality by prohibiting Parties from disclosing: (i) the records or minutes of the hearings; (ii) the documents submitted by the Parties

Two recent items of note on this topic: 1. From the NY Times, the effect of a smaller budget for USTR: The Office of the United States Trade Representative has been waging a lonely battle for its budget, which shrank 7 percent to $47 million this year because of sequestration

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's second set of questions: Question 142 (European Union) Please elaborate on the basis for your position regarding de jure and de facto discrimination claims under the GATT 1994 as described in paragraph 79 of the European Union's