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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

GATT Article I:1 (MFN) and "Conditions" for Lower Tariffs

From a recent article in The Australian: China yesterday raised the prospect of tariffs and new policies to stem growing uncertainty in its steel industry, which faces iron ore price hikes of up to 90 per cent this year. China's Commerce Ministry said yesterday it was preparing a

Excerpts from the House Ways and Means China Currency Hearing

I couldn't find video of the House Ways and Means hearing on China's exchange rate policy, but I did get my hands on a transcript. Here are some interesting tidbits: What should the U.S. do about the China currency issue? BERGSTEN: You don't

Clyde Prestowitz on Expanding the Trade Regime

From his written testimony at the House Ways and Means hearing on China's exchange rate policy: We have a WTO, but what we really need is a world globalization organization. ... Over the longer term, the currently prevailing half-free trade, half-mercantilist system of globalization must be replaced

Jim Bacchus on Responses to Chinese Currency Practices

He is skeptical that a WTO complaint under GATT Article XV would be useful. From a WSJ op-ed: The second possibility is that the U.S. would—as the new Congressional proposals also contemplate—sue China in the WTO alleging that China's exchange actions are inconsistent with

CRS Report on Currency Manipulation: Analysis of WTO Legal Issues

From a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report by Jonathan Sanford on Currency Manipulation: The IMF and WTO, here is some brief analysis of WTO legal issues. SCM Agreement Articles 1-3: Whether currency disputes fall under the WTO’s jurisdiction is a debatable issue. The WTO rules specify that

House Ways and Means China Currency Hearing

It's going on right now, and it's fascinating. There's so much being said that it's hard to summarize. Not sure I'll be able to, at least not right now. You can watch it here [ADDED: Now that it's

U.S. - Poultry from China: WTO Panels Examining Domestic Law

For those who are into this sort of thing, the U.S. - Poultry from China (DS392) dispute has a very interesting issue related to the examination of domestic law. In this case, one of the arguments made by the United States was that the statutory provision at issue, which is

A WTO Litigation Strategy Question

Let's say you are a government who is concerned about the WTO-consistency of a particular measure of a trading partner. You'd really like for that measure to be found in violation of WTO rules. Does bringing additional, less convincing, claims against other measures (perhaps related

The China Currency Issue: The Savings Gap

It has been suggested that the main cause of the U.S. trade deficit with China is the savings gap between the two countries, involving some combination of China saving too much and the U.S. saving too little. From Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach: Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman

More on GATT Article XV:4

A few months ago, I tried to do a quick analysis of one aspect of GATT Article XV:4, in the context of a possible WTO claim related to China’s currency peg. The issue I raised was whether, when arguing that an “exchange action” “frustrates the intent” of GATT