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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 Summary of China Currency Views

I thought it might be interesting to gather up the various views that have been expressed on the China currency issue. I have two key questions in mind: 1) Is the Chinese currency peg at an (allegedly) undervalued rate bad for the U.S. economy/global economy? 2) If it

Paths to Economic Development: Is Services (Part of) the Answer?

Over at vox, Ejaz Ghani of the World Bank argues that services can play a more important role in development than is generally thought: The story of Hyderabad – the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh – is truly inspiring for late-comers to development. Within two decades, Andhra Pradesh

Tobacco and Trade/Investment Agreements

Tobacco and trade/investment issues are heating up. Philip Morris is suing Norway: Philip Morris Norway (PMN) has announced it’s going to sue the Norwegian state. They claim the ban against displaying tobacco products that came into force on 01 January is illegal. “These regulations prevent adult consumers from

Today's Chinese Currency Post

I don't mean to overdo things with the China currency issue, but it's a hot topic and there's a lot to say about it. So here's today's post, which is about an argument made by Arvind Subramanian in the FT:

Climate Labelling under WTO Rules

From SSRN, here is the asbtract of Climate Labelling and the WTO: The 2010 EU Ecolabelling Programme as a Test Case Under WTO Law, by Erich Vranes Environmental labelling is increasingly used as an instrument of climate protection. This is underlined, for example, by the EU climate change programme, in

Workshop on Global Law and Economic Policy at Harvard

From June 2-11, 2010: The Workshop is an intensive ten day residential program designed for doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. The Workshop aims to promote innovative ideas and alternative approaches to issues of global law, economic policy and social justice in the aftermath of the economic crisis. The initiative

Film Production Subsidies

From The Economist: California has been worrying about “runaway production” since 1998, when Canada began luring producers and their crews away from Los Angeles with tax breaks. Other places followed, and all but seven American states and territories and 24 other countries now offer, or are preparing to offer, rebates,

Trade in Everything: Rush Limbaugh Edition

No, we're not trading Rush Limbaugh. Rather, he may be engaging in trade in medical services: Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said this week he’d go to Costa Rica for medical treatment if Congress passes proposed reforms to the US healthcare system. That might sound like

The Proposal for Two Separate Legal Proceedings for AD/CVD Injury Determinations

Last week I mentioned Senator Specter's proposal to allow AD/CVD injury determinations to be made by federal district courts rather than the ITC. At the time, I said I didn't see any WTO violations in such a proposal. However, having now seen the text of

More Currency Stuff

UNCTAD is not a fan of a floating exchange rate for China: Amidst continued financial crisis, the question of the global trade imbalances is back high on the international agenda. A procession of prominent economists, editorialists and politicians have taken it upon themselves to “remind” the surplus countries, and in