Simon Lester

Wrapping up the series of posts on GATT Article XX, let me ask this:  Can GATT Article XX be a defense to an Article XXIII:1(b) non-violation claim? The "exception" language in Article XX is pretty broad:  "nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to

More on GATT Article XX from the complainants' oral statement in the China - Exportation of Raw Materials case: 96. China’s export duties and export quotas on these products are not necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health. According to China, the production of coke, magnesium

From USTR: China’s Imposition of Antidumping Duties and Countervailing Duties on U.S. Steel Imports Grain-oriented flat-rolled electrical steel (GOES) is used by the power-generating industry in transformers, reactors, and other large electric machines. The two largest U.S. manufacturers of GOES are AK Steel Corporation,

The leaking begins.  From Reuters: An interim report released to the parties on Wednesday backed European complaints over some $17 billion of research contracts from NASA and the Pentagon and approximately $4 billion of tax breaks from Washington state, the source said. The WTO found the aid "actionable"

The House Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing today and tomorrow on China's exchange rate policy.  There are a bunch of witness statements available, and you can watch it all live.  Here's a short excerpt from John Magnus' testimony, focusing on the export

Keeping the GATT Article XX discussion going, this Article XX issue may be one of the more difficult ones.  Are there special considerations under Article XX when the product at issue is a "used" one, such as retreaded tires, waste products, or "scrap" products?  Can you

This is from an article by Christopher Tran, an LLB student at Melbourne Law School: The applicability of GATT, Art XX beyond the GATT itself has previously been left open in two panel reports. More recently, in China – Audiovisual Products, the Appellate Body held that GATT, Art XX could be

Here's another GATT Article XX issue in the China - Exportation of Raw Materials case:  the role of "sovereignty" in interpreting Article XX.  With the caveat that this is just the complainants' characterization of China's argument, and I haven't seen China'

This is from Marginal Revolution: FYI, a loyal MR reader and commentator, writes to me: I would like to suggest a topic for your blog: the way imports are used in the GDP calculation. To me it makes no sense that we would decrease our GDP every time something is