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Simon Lester

A Few Points About the Aircraft Decision

Nothing that important, but a couple things of note. First, Boeing has provided a nice breakdown of the findings for each measure. We often do this in our DSC, but they've saved us the trouble. (I assume they got it right, but have not double-checked). Second, I&

The WTO Aircraft Decision

It's out, and it's just about as long as they said it would be. Here's the "abbreviated" version -- just the background and findings, with the parties' arguments and annexes taken out -- on our web site. This version is "only"

More on EU Biofuels Regulation

From SSRN, this is the abstract of "EU Biofuels Policy – Raising the Question of WTO Compatibility," by Stephanie Switzer and Joe McMahon: This article examines the question of the compatibility of the new EU Biofuels regime with the disciplines established by the WTO. After an explanation of the

Outsourcing Legal Work

From The Economist: RITU SOLANKI, a 28-year-old lawyer with a degree from Nottingham University, spends most of her time drafting contracts and legal memos for a telecoms firm in Britain. She, however, is in Gurgaon, a high-rise satellite city on Delhi’s edge, where she works for

Indonesia, Biofuels and the WTO

As the Clove Cigarettes WTO dispute (DS406) moves forward, Indonesia is likely to gain a lot of experience relating to de facto discrimination claims, GATT Article XX defenses and the TBT Agreement. Can they use this experience to bring a claim against EU biofuel restrictions? Writing in the Jakarta Globe,

Book Review: Luca Rubini: The Definition of Subsidy and State Aid

I had been working on a book review of Luca Rubini's "The Definition of Subsidy and State Aid: WTO and EC Law in Comparative Perspective." Among other reasons for doing so, this seemed like a good way to prepare for the EC - Aircraft WTO panel report,

The G20 Gives up on Doha

For now, at least. From Reuters: World leaders dropped a commitment on Saturday to complete the troubled Doha trade round this year and vowed to push forward on bilateral and regional trade talks until a global deal could be done. Reuters then sums up the problems nicely: But the Doha

Russia and the WTO

A debate in Foreign Policy over Russia's WTO accession. From Anders Aslund and Fred Bergsten Russia has never been closer to WTO accession. The remaining hurdles are modest: sanitary rules for U.S. exports of chicken and pork, limits on future agricultural subsidies, rules for encryption, regulation of

The International Law of Free Markets

In a field full of free market supporters (certainly not everyone, but a good number), I think I am one of the most free market oriented. (I don't even mind being called a "free market fundamentalist," even though I realize it is meant as an insult!

More On Dissents

This time dissents at the domestic level. Here's a question from the Panel in the U.S. - Tyres Safeguards (DS399) WTO dispute: Q8. What weight, if any, should the Panel give to the fact that there were two dissenting opinions within the USITC on causation? As background, there