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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

A Very Old Semiconductors and National Security Trade Dispute

Through some searches I don't recall the details of, I stumbled on this paper, which makes reference to an old U.S. national security dispute over imports of semiconductor products: ... The very first trade dispute in semiconductors was in 1959. American transistor producers sought protection from Japanese exports

Chip Subsidies, Exports, and CVDs

Subsidies are a big part of the Biden administration's economic policy, with a variety of types available. Some go directly to producers, while others are in the form of tax credits for consumers on their purchases of goods. How much is being spent? For semiconductor subsidies, which as

Some Digital Trade Policy Proposals for the Biden Administration on Data Flow Obligations and Exceptions

Based on a couple recent meetings I was a part of, I thought it might be helpful to put together some specific proposals for digital trade provisions related to data flow obligations and exceptions, in the context of international economic agreements. The Biden administration appears to be having some internal

More on Trade Enforcement

In my last post, I said this about trade enforcement at the WTO and under the U.S.-China Phase One deal: ... if the U.S. wants to enforce the WTO agreements in relation to the foreign trade barriers it has identified to the same extent other governments -- such as

Katherine Tai on Trade Enforcement

Last week, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai spoke at the Aspen Security Forum and had the following things to say about U.S. enforcement of trade agreements: In terms of trade enforcement, in order for our trade agreements, and our trade arrangements, to have integrity, we have to hold

The EU-Japan Approach to Data Flow Obligations and Exceptions

I've done several posts on digital trade provisions in which I set out the data flow obligations and the exceptions, and consider whether the drafters have struck a good balance in terms of promoting data flows while preserving regulatory space. A recent draft amendment to the existing EU-

Chris Christie on Trump's China Trade Policies

There was another Republican primary debate last night, and finally there was a discussion of trade policy, albeit briefly. The issue was raised by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Here's what he said: And I will say this about what I heard from Nikki [Haley] earlier. She

AD/CVD and Non-Market Policies and Practices

Someone asked me to speak to their organization about the problem of non-market policies and practices, and one of the points I was going to make was that while some people seem to think AD/CVD can be a useful tool to address at least a few of these

A North American Record Pace for USMCA Panel Reports

The USMCA panel report in Canada - Dairy TRQs 2023 was circulated on Friday. It's the fourth USMCA state-state trade dispute panel report since the USMCA came into force on July 1, 2020. The Mexico - GE Corn dispute is underway (the U.S. first written submission in that

More on "Sunsetting" WTO Dispute Settlement

Reuters reports the following exchange with Deputy USTR Maria Pagan on WTO DS reform: WTO delegates told Reuters that Washington has submitted proposals, including a so-called "sunset clause" that would automatically mean any future deal would one day expire. Asked to react, Pagan said: "This is