International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Google's Troubles in Foreign Markets: First China, Now France?

From the Economist: FRENCH internet executives, bloggers and web users cringed in early January when an independent report for the ministry of culture proposed a tax on online advertising revenues, aimed at American firms such as Google, Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo! and Facebook, to pay for new subsidies for the music,

The China - Publications Decision: Is The Appellate Body Becoming "Activist"?

Activist is a loaded term, I know, and that's not really what I mean. What I have in mind is the Appellate Body's apparent willingness in China - Publications to address issues that it could have avoided, and its establishment of standards that make issue avoidance

Fred Abbott on the Seizure of Generic Drugs in Transit

Fred Abbott has posted "Seizure of Generic Pharmaceuticals in Transit Based on Allegations of Patent Infringement: A Threat to International Trade, Development and Public Welfare" on SSRN: This essay addresses the legitimacy of seizures by the customs authorities of some European Union member states of pharmaceutical products moving

Google and China: Protectionism or Censorship?

In Foreign Policy, journalist Jordan Calinoff asks, "Is web censorship just an excuse to drive out foreign competition and give a boost to Chinese brands?" He then writes: ... Google, like Yahoo before it, has been systematically forced out of the market by a Chinese government determined to purge

Pascal Lamy on Trade and Human Rights

WTO DG Pascal Lamy makes some interesting points (as he often does) in his recent speech on trade and human rights. Here are the ones that jumped out at me (quoted portion indented), with some quick comments. 1. Good governance and transparency are essential for trade. What role do human

Proposed Amendments to the AB Working Procedures

The Appellate Body is proposing some amendments to its Working Procedures (Word Doc): We propose the following three amendments to the Working Procedures: · First, we suggest that an appellant's written submission be filed when an appeal is commenced, namely, on the same day as the filing of a

Anti-Dumping Laws as a Reason for Foreign Investment

From the FT: Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecoms equipment company, is to make a $500m investment in its research and development operations in the southern Indian city of Bangalore as part of an effort to avoid falling foul of tension between New Delhi and Beijing. Max Yang, Huawei's

Google, China and the WTO

Google's possible exit from China is all over the news. Are there any trade issues in there? Possibly: Lawyers said that Google and the US might have a legal basis for suing China at the World Trade Organisation, a move that would further complicate relations between Washington and

The WTO Seal Products Dispute: A Preview of the Legal Issues

Here is an ASIL Insight I did on the Seal Products dispute, previewing the legal issues. (Keep in mind that I only had 2,000 words, so it's a fairly brief preview!) An excerpt: One might expect that core WTO principles, such as non-discrimination and necessity, would have

Clove Cigarette Update

I'm not sure I'm reading this correctly, but there may be a peaceful resolution to the clove cigarette ban controversy (see here and here for background): Kretek International Inc., importer and marketer of Djarum clove cigars, withdrew its lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug