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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

Roger Alford on GATT Article XX and Extraterritoriality

Over at Opinio Juris, Roger Alford writes the following on GATT Article XX and extraterritoriality: One of the most significant questions under GATT Article XX is whether States can violate WTO rules in order to protect against foreign harms. It is an issue that has plagued the GATT/WTO for

Trade Rebalancing at the G-20: Numerical Targets vs. Unilateral Trade Liberalization vs. Floating Currencies vs. Fiscal Policies

I'm on a break from jury duty this week-end, so I'll try to put together a couple posts. Apologies if they are a bit jumbled; my mind is cluttered with non-IEL thoughts. First up, the issue of trade "rebalancing." Leading up to

Zeroing: Beyond Dumping?

I thought I'd mention quickly that I might be less active on this blog in the coming days than people have come to expect from me. It's not that I've lost interest, it's that I got picked for a jury. (For the

Monetary Policy and Subsidized Government Loans

It is pretty well accepted, I think, that government loans provide a "benefit" (one component of a subsidy) when they are made at "below market" interest rates. However, given the role of governments in setting interest rates, through the monetary policy implemented by central banks, are

Location Incentives for Film-Making

Reader Pietro Poretti points me to this article indicating that subsidies and other incentives for movie production are alive and well: The Hobbit will be made in New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key has announced. He said at a press conference this evening that new labour laws would be introduced

Brazil's Proposal on Currency Undervaluation Issues

From Reuters: Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega will propose at the Group of 20 nations meeting next month that the International Monetary Fund create an index measuring currency manipulation, local media reported on Thursday. The idea is to identify who is keeping their currency artificially low to boost

Trade in Everything: Lethal Injection Drugs

From the AP: Facing a nationwide shortage of a lethal injection drug, Arizona has taken an unusual step that other death penalty states may soon follow: get their supplies from another country. Such a move, experts say, raises questions about the effectiveness of the drug. But it also may further

A Non Liquet Example

A little while ago, I posted about Claude Barfield's suggestion on using "non liquet" in WTO dispute settlement: where the texts are unclear or contradictory, panels and the AB should be allowed or even instructed to adopt the non liquet doctrine—or in effect, “it is

The Ukraine-Armenia Cigarettes and Alcohol Dispute

I had been trying to do some posts on the Ukraine-Armenia WTO dispute over taxes and duties on cigarettes and alcohol (DS411), because I figured it would not get reported on much in the mainstream media. But perhaps I better stop trying to do this kind of reporting, given

The EU Tries to Co-opt Some Americans on GIs

From Reuters: A gourmet coffee from the island of Hawaii won an European prize for top quality foods on Saturday as part of Europe's efforts to bolster the global use of prestigious place names like Champagne, Parma or Roquefort. The European Union is in a long-running dispute