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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

Australia to Appeal the Apples Panel Report

That was quick: Australia will appeal a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that tough restrictions on the importation of New Zealand apples are unduly restrictive on trade. A decision by the WTO's panel of independent arbitrators recommended overnight "that the dispute settlement body request Australia to bring

Treatment of Workers Supplying Services Through Mode 4 Trade

Trade in services through mode 4 -- movement of natural persons -- can be complicated. It's not just about convincing countries to open up to trade. Once they have opened up, there are issues related to the treatment of workers. Sometimes the government of the exporting country takes these issues

Accepting an Amicus Brief at the WTO

More on the substance of the dispute later (possibly much later -- it's a long report), but here's something interesting from today's Australia - Apples panel report: 6. Unsolicited letter from an Australian private entity 1.17 On 26 August 2008, the Panel received an unsolicited

Law and Development Conference in Sydney

The Law and Development Institute is hosting its Inaugural Conference in Sydney, on October 16, 2010. Here's the program, which looks excellent. I can't seem to copy it into this post in nice formatting, so check it out at the link.

A New Link Between Trade and Immigration

Reader Daniel Crosby points me to this article from the NY Times, which discusses a proposed U.S. law that takes the trade and immigration linkage in a new direction: A Senate bill approved Thursday night by unanimous consent would pay for more security along the Mexico border by raising

WTO Gambling Case Predictions

This is from gambling writer Hartley Henderson: Consequently the following is my prediction with regards to the WTO issue and Antigua. The U.S. will remove its decision to rewrite its commitments, thereby eliminating the need to offer concessions. The country will provide opportunities for EU based companies to compete

Looking for KORUS FTA Investor-State Business?

Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch notes: If the [Korea-U.S. FTA] were to go into effect, at least 79 Korea-based corporations with 270 establishments across the United States would obtain new rights to demand taxpayer compensation through challenges of U.S. federal, and state laws in

Harley-Davidson Plays the State Competition Game

From the AP: It's the roar that made Milwaukee famous — the distinctive throaty rumble of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But that much-loved racket could be rumbling away to another state if the company cannot bring down its labor costs. Harley-Davidson warned employees in April that it

Two Takes on the Enron ICSID Annulment Decision

Luke Peterson provides the basic details: A review panel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has annulled a 2007 arbitral award rendered in favour of the Enron corporation and Ponderosa Assets L.P. (hereinafter Enron”) in a dispute arising out of the Argentine financial crisis. The

Defining the Boundaries of International Economic Law

Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, I think this op-ed by Canadian political science prof Adam Harmes states the issues quite well: As premiers gather for their annual conference in Winnipeg this week, the issue of reducing interprovincial trade barriers will no doubt be a