International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Do Free Traders Support Dumping?

From an Australian union leader: "The bottom line is that even free-trade zealots do not support dumping because it is an uncompetitive practice and not a true reflection of market forces."Hmm, I'm not so sure about that one. I don't think economist Greg

Trade in Everything: Haggis

From the Daily Telegraph: US authorities are considering relaxing an import ban on the Scottish delicacy, brought about by the BSE crisis in 1989, it was reported. The meat dish contains offal, including sheep lung, which was covered by the American restriction on some imported animal products. ... A spokeswoman for

Pleading "No Contest" in the Zeroing Disputes

It's hard to know what to make of a WTO panel decision like today's U.S. - AD Measures on Carrier Bags report. In a nutshell, Thailand alleged that the U.S. used "zeroing" in the anti-dumping proceeding at issue, in violation of the

Some Questions About "High Standards" in Trade Agreements

I see a lot of talk these days by the Obama administration about "high standard" trade agreements (e.g., here). They also refer to "21st century" trade agreements, presumably to convey a similar idea. So what do they mean by a "high standard" agreement?

Chander on International Trade and Internet Freedom

Anupam Chander has posted International Trade and Internet Freedom on SSRN. From the abstract: Can trade liberalization serve the cause of political liberalization in authoritarian states? In this short essay, I suggest that trade law might bolster political freedoms by liberalizing Internet trade. Trade law puts pressure on state repression

Phil Levy on Defining Protectionism

Phil Levy of AEI tries to define modern protectionism: To better recognize protectionism in its modern guises, we offer three broad categories of protectionist measures: Intentional protectionism encompasses measures that are explicitly intended to favor domestic industry over imports. Incidental protectionism occurs when measures can be readily justified on other

Market Economy Status and Arms Trade in Exchange for Chinese Currency Revaluation?

From China Daily: Spain will propose that the European Union (EU) consider lifting an arms embargo on China and grant full market economy status to the country, Madrid's top envoy to Beijing has said. Elaborating on Spain's tasks during the six months it holds the EU

The First WTO Dispute of the Year: Another Alcohol Tax Discrimination Case

Sometimes I think that being involved in an alcohol tax discrimination dispute is kind of like a rite of passage for WTO Members. The latest one is the first complaint of 2010: United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced today that the United States has requested World Trade Organization (WTO)

Barbie Protectionism

From AFP: Chavez, in his weekly radio-TV show "Alo Presidente," called on Venezuelan manufacturers to make "educational" toys and dolls with indigenous peoples' features to replace capitalistic counterparts like the Barbie doll that "have nothing to do with our culture." ... Venezuela, Chavez said,

Using Trade Measures to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, Etc.

A couple days ago, I posted about Pascal Lamy's speech on human rights, where he said, among other things, that " trade measures are the most commonly used instrument in developed countries to put pressure on states violating human rights. " Presumably, one type of measure he had