International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Understanding the "Progressive Nationalist" View of Trade and International Economic Policy

I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone to hear that people who write about politics and policy often have an ideological agenda. (And yes, I confess that sometimes I have one! Maybe I should label my posts that have an ideological agenda so as

Is the Foreign Pollution Fee Bill WTO-Compliant?

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced the Foreign Pollution Fee bill (S.3198), which would impose a fee on certain carbon-intense imports. A FAQ document for the bill explains how this would work: The legislation imposes a fee on products imported into the U.S. that

The U.S. Changes Its Mind in the WTO E-Commerce Negotiations

The U.S. made headlines last week by withdrawing some proposals it had previously made on specific aspects of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce negotiations. Many pro-trade people were upset by this decision, but for reasons I will explain below, I wasn't as bothered. My first

ISDS Event at Georgetown Law Tomorrow

This is from Georgetown Law's Center on Inclusive Trade and Development: Please join Senator Elizabeth Warren and Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz on Wednesday, October 25, 1:30-2:30 PM ET for a special event on the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) regime. Georgetown Law’s Center on Inclusive Trade

Political Compromise and Reducing Carbon Emissions

In a new paper, law prof Tim Meyer offers a defense of combining (1) discriminatory regulations such as local content requirements with (2) subsidies to reduce carbon emissions. In the abstract of the paper, he says: Second, like all policies, green trade policies usually pursue multiple objectives. The fact that

The Fifth USMCA Panel

Yesterday, there was a notice posted here about panel composition in the Mexico - GE Corn (USMCA) case, with the following panelists having been appointed: * Christian Häberli, Chair of the panel * Hugo Perezcano Díaz, panelist * Jean E. Kalicki, panelist Kalicki is American and Perezcano Díaz is Mexican, so even though

Katherine Tai on Industrial Policy, the Global Steel and Aluminum Arrangement, and EU Digital Regulation

Last week, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai spoke at the Center for American Progress. You can watch the whole event here. As I try to do whenever I have time and she says something in the Q & A that intrigues me, I'm going to quote a

The Evidence on Trade and Peace

I see a few people questioning the idea that trade promotes peace, and I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Here are two recent examples from ex-Twitter: * This is from Paul Krugman: "Not just strategic relations. People underestimate the role of geopolitical ideas in economic

Virtual Event: The Economic Implications of Recent United Kingdom Trade Agreements for the US, Texas and Mexico

David Gantz passed along the following: The United Kingdom is in the midst of negotiating several international agreements that are likely to have direct economic impact on the United States, Mexico and Texas. These include an accession agreement to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (to which Mexico is an

Katherine Tai on Rising Inequality, Competition, and Environmental Leadership

U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai spoke at an event at the University of North Carolina last week. I thought her remarks offered some of the most clear and emphatic explanations of her philosophy on U.S. trade policy and trade politics. I suppose she has said all these things