International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Overlapping NAFTA/WTO Environment Claims: Ontario's Renewable Energy Policies

A WTO panel was established today in the Canadian "Feed in Tariff" case (DS412). From AFP: The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday it will rule on a Japanese claim that a Canadian province's renewable energy programme flouts international trade law. "A panel was established,

Section 301 and Investor-State

USTR declines a Section 301 petition related to expropriation: On May 24, 2011, representatives of two individuals—Mauricio Gadala Maria and Carolina Maratos Gadala Maria—filed a petition requesting that the Trade Representative initiate a Section 301 investigation with respect to alleged expropriations without adequate compensation by the Government of

Assistant USTR For Trade Policy and Economics Job

A job advertisement from USTR: The incumbent serves as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics. The Office is responsible for managing a staff of professionals engaged in the intra-agency and interagency trade policy coordination. The Office also provides statistical and economic analytical support for negotiating

Australia and the U.S. on the Aspect of the Measure to be Examined under GATT Article XX

More on the issue of the aspect of the measure to be examined under Article XX, from last week's DSB meeting: Australia had reservations about the reasoning applied by the Appellate Body in its application of the necessary test under Article 20 of GATT 1994. According to Australia,

The Problem of "Overly Restrictive Regulations" on Whiskey

From a recent op-ed by USTR Ron Kirk: Tariff levels are generally falling around the world, but U.S. companies still face significant “behind-the-border” barriers, which typically take the form of complex, burdensome regulations and standards. The story of Tuthilltown Spirits of Gardiner, N.Y., illustrates the challenges to U.

The Economics of Overlapping AD/CVDs

In an article entitled The Offsetting Duty Norm and the Simultaneous Application of Countervailing and Antidumping Duties, economist Brian Kelly writes about the economics of overlapping AD/CVD measures. From the abstract: World Trade Organization (WTO) members have long expressed a norm concerning the trade “remedies” of countervailing (anti-subsidy) duties

GATT Article XX as a Defense to Non-GATT Agreements

Following up on posts here, here, here and here about GATT Article XX as a defense to claims under non-GATT agreements, this is from last Tuesday's China - Raw Materials panel report: 7.152 This brings us to the issue of whether Article XX of the GATT 1994

Farm Subsidies, the U.S. Budget Deficit, and the Doha Round

Former Appellate Body Member Jim Bacchus makes the case for cutting farm subsidies: The federal budgetary squeeze on agricultural subsidies offers the President and Congress a beckoning opportunity to seize and shape a grand global bargain on international trade. We could trade new cuts in farm subsidies for new markets

Carving Tobacco out of Trade Agreements

I've heard this argument before, but I've never seen it written up (and thus been able to blog about it). Here's the text of a draft letter to USTR Ron Kirk, which is being circulated by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez to her House colleagues: ... We

New Zealand, Plain Packaging, and Investor-State

How is New Zealand reacting to the Philip Morris investment claim against Australia's plain packaging law? This is from the New Zealand Herald: Big tobacco companies won't be able to sue the Government over anti-smoking laws, Prime Minister John Key says. Philip Morris Asia, based in