Simon Lester

From a recent speech by WTO DG Pascal Lamy: This morning I will address the multilateral trading system and regional economic cooperation. The title is well chosen in the sense that the multilateral reference is to trade, while at the regional level the title refers to economic cooperation. What this

My Cato colleague Bill Watson has a new paper in which he argues for the repeal of Section 337.  Here is one part that I found particularly interesting: ... The ITC may soon become a vehicle for challenging extraterritorial conduct that is legal where it occurs but which would violate U.

From Mitt Romney's blog a couple days ago: We're going to open up new markets for our goods and expand our reach into other parts of the world where other nations are now competing. I want to make sure our goods can go throughout the world.

From Rob Howse: We witnessed last week another illustration of how progress in global trade liberalization has shifted from the WTO to other fora:  APEC agreed on a plan for liberalization of trade in environmental goods, by-passing negotiations in the WTO that have been going nowhere for years.  One of

From the CBC: Canada's asbestos industry is effectively and finally shut down, with Industry Minister Christian Paradis's announcement Friday that the Canadian government will no long oppose the listing of asbestos as a hazardous substance in the international Rotterdam Convention. Paradis also said the federal government

Yesterday I asked how a product ban compares with plain packaging, in terms of the impact on trademark rights.  After conversations with several people who saw a distinction between a product ban and plain packaging with regard to trademark rights, I had some additional thoughts. It seems to me that

There was one point of substance I wanted to mention from the TPP event.  I was talking with two people, one who thought plain packaging of cigarettes violates international IP rules and one thought it does not.  The guy who thought it was a violation made the argument that a

Yesterday, I went to the stakeholders engagement part of the latest TPP negotiating round.  (This is the 14th round of TPP negotiations. How many more will there be?  Another 14?) This was the first time I've attended one of these.  Here are some impressions.  (But don't

For you aspiring young scholars: A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law. The competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of any university

Seriously.  Well, I don't know how serious it is.  It may just be a PR stunt.  The named defendants are the WTO, USTR Ron Kirk, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and the United States of America. The complaint is here.  An excerpt: plaintiffs seek a declaration that the