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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

What Aspect of the Measure Must be Necessary under the GATT Article XX Exceptions?

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's first set of questions: Question 43 (All parties) What aspects of the EU Seal Regime should be examined for the necessity test under Article XX(a) and XX(b) of the GATT 1994? Explain your position in light of

The Relationship of TBT Articles 2.1 and 2.2

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's first set of questions: Question 36 (European Union) The European Union argues in paragraph 261 of its first written submission that if the legitimacy of an objective is established, then a fortiori, the regulatory distinction at issue is also

What is Even-Handedness in the TBT 2.1 Context?

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's first set of questions: Question 35 (All parties) In US-COOL, the Appellate Body stated: [S]ome technical regulations that have a de facto detrimental impact on imports may not be inconsistent with Article 2.1 when such impact

Individual vs. Group Comparisons under Less Favorable Treatment

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's first set of questions: Question 23 (All parties) Based on Table 1 and specific cells comprising the table, please identify the groups of products to be compared for the purpose of the Panel's analysis of the complainants&

The Relationship Between the GATT and TBT Non-Discrimination Obligations

From the EU response to the Seal Products panel's first set of questions: Question 7 (All parties) Please explain your views on the relationship between the TBT Agreement and the GATT 1994 in terms of the non-discrimination obligations and policy justifications addressed in both agreements. For example,

The Relevance of International Law in WTO Law

This is from the U.S. response to a Seal Products panel question: 4. (All third parties) Please explain the extent of the relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries to the analysis

Q & A in the Seal Products Dispute

The Panel's questions and parties'/third parties' responses in the Seal Products dispute are very interesting. The U.S. has posted its responses here; the EU's responses are here and here. (I'm not aware of other parties/third parties posting their responses,

Argentina and Foreign Investment

Recently, Argentina's economic nationalism has caused consternation in both trade and investment circles, and there have been a number of trade and investment complaints brought in response to various Argentine government actions. The trade cases at the WTO are just getting underway; many investment arbitration awards have already

Clarifying WTO Rules Relating to FITs

Liesbeth Casier and Tom Moerenhout of IISD have written a short paper on the Renewable Energy/FIT case (DS412,426). Basically, they are critical of the AB's "benefit" findings, and think the WTO Members should step in to clarify how WTO rules apply to feed-in

Pascal Lamy's Final Speech as WTO DG

I have greatly enjoyed blogging about Pascal Lamy's speeches over the years. He gets into real substance far more than most public officials. Here are some snippets from his final speech as DG. First, some skepticism on the trend towards regionalism: We also know that behind the headlines