International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Will Trump's Trade Deals Increase U.S. Exports?

One of the criticisms of the Biden administration on trade policy was that it didn't put enough effort into improving access for U.S. producers to foreign markets. The Trump administration, by contrast, has made this one of its priorities. But will its approach to market access work?

To What Extent Are the Trade Negotiations about Security?

On the face of things, the trade negotiations triggered by President Trump's unilateral actions are focused on various trade-related objectives. Trump thinks higher U.S. tariffs are a good way to do some mix of the following: reshore domestic manufacturing, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, and increase

Jamieson Greer on the Rise of Manufacturing Competition

At the Reindustrialize Summit held in Detroit last week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the following about the decline of American industrial power: At the heyday of American industrialization, our country enjoyed a robust middle class, an unassailable national defense, and an innovation economy unprecedented in human history.

Guest Post: WTO Law Compatibility of the UK’s New Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme

This is a guest post from from University of Swansea law professor Arwel Davies On July 15th, UK media outlets reported a new government scheme to support the purchase of EVs with a price of under £37,000. The two grant levels are £3,750 or £1,500 depending on

Can the Trump Administration's Price Control Plan Bring U.S. Pharmaceutical Prices Down?

In recent months, the Trump administration has undertaken some efforts to lower U.S. drug prices. I'm skeptical that their approach will work, but nevertheless it involves a range of issues that interact in interesting ways. With the caveat that I'm not really an expert on

What Are the Critics of China's WTO Entry Objecting To?

In recent years, there have been some prominent voices out there criticizing the decision to allow China to join the WTO. One thing I have trouble understanding is what the critics see as the counterfactual: How exactly do they think the United States (or the world) would be better off

Guest Post: From Plenty to Protectionism: The Zero-Sum Logic Revisited

This is a guest post from João Felipe Achcar de Azambuja* and Paul Schiering** “I am a tariff man standing on a tariff platform.”[1] Being a tariff man was an important building block both for William McKinley and for Donald Trump to be elected U.S. President. But why

How Many Trade Deals Do We Have So Far?

Back in April, with the 90 day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs scheduled to end at midnight on July 8, a Trump administration official suggested they could sign "90 deals in 90 days." At that time, I noted here on the blog that I had said

Is Industrial Policy Undermining the Fight against Climate Change?

Todd Tucker has a new JIEL piece called "Towards a post-Trump order for the climate crisis." It has been a couple years since I've engaged with something from Todd, so I'm going to use this piece to try to revive our decades-long debates. Fingers

The UK Joins the MPIA

The UK has just set out its new trade strategy, and one point in there is that it will be joining the MPIA: The WTO has an almost unique function to resolve trade disputes. That trade dispute system is busier than ever but, since 2019, it has lacked an appellate