Simon Lester

From the U.S. - Orange Juice (Brazil) panel report (DS382) circulated last Friday: 7.129 It is well established that the purpose of treaty interpretation through the use of the Vienna Convention is the identification of the common intention of the parties.  It follows that where the common intention

As noted here, Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt seemed to want to start a debate on the merits of free trade vs. protectionism over at the NY Times economix blog.  In this regard, he wrote: But along with my Princeton colleague Alan S. Blinder, I do worry about what the dynamic

Recall from this post that SCM Agreement Article 1.1(a)(1) refers to a "public body" in the context of defining "financial contribution": (a)(1) there is a financial contribution by a government or any public body within the territory of a Member (referred to

In the U.S. - AD/CVD on Products from China (DS379) report, the Appellate Body dabbled in a bit of political philosophy: 290. ... In this vein, the Appellate Body found, in Canada – Dairy, that the essence of government is that it enjoys the effective power to regulate, control, or

From the NY Times: When NASA scientists were searching decades ago for an ideal food for long-term human space missions, they came across an Andean plant called quinoa. With an exceptional balance of amino acids, quinoa, they declared, is virtually unrivaled in the plant or animal kingdom for its life-sustaining

Every now and then, there is a fairly straightforward interpretive disagreement among the various participants and third participants in a dispute.  In this situation, panels and the Appellate Body generally have to pick a side.  They can't make everyone happy.  Unless, of course, they exercise judicial economy, but