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Simon Lester

"NAFTA Claus"

I'm not sure that cheap, plastic toys are the best illustration of the benefits of free trade, but, as this article suggests, it is one of the reasons people support it: As I usually opt to give the kids books and clothing, the toy prices surprised me. I

Would Venezuela Nationalize a Toyota Factory?

It's a bit hard to believe, but news reports say it's possible: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered an investigation of Toyota Motor Corp., saying the world’s largest carmaker “can leave” should it fail to meet production quotas and technology-transfer laws. Toyota has refused to make

The Rise of China and the Future of Trade Remedies

From Reuters: China on Wednesday slapped anti-dumping duties on imports of carbon steel fasteners from the European Union, just a day after the EU extended import duties on shoes from China and Vietnam.This reminds me of what recently took place after the U.S. imposed safeguards on Chinese tires:

IEL Faculty Position (in Paris)

At the Science Po School of Law: Sciences Po's School of Law is seeking to recruit a full professor in "international economic law" for a public‐sector teaching position. The successful applicant will be required to teach in the School of Law and the Sciences Po

The AB in China - Publications: GATT Article XX Can Apply Outside the Context of Claims under the GATT

I'm going to have to take a look at this more closely to figure out all the implications, but the AB said the following in today's China - Publications decision: 215. ... We note that the question of whether the introductory clause of paragraph 5.1 allows

The Line Between Discriminatory Measures and Non-Discriminatory Measures that Affect Trade

I want to go back to the Staiger/Sykes paper on Intenational Trade and Domestic Regulation that I mentioned a little while ago. At the end of the paper, they present a hypothetical set of facts, based (somewhat) on the EC - Hormones case, which I think provides a good

Trade and Income

Over at vox, Pravin Krishna and Mine Z. Senses explain how trade can negatively affect income: In recent research (Krishna and Senses 2009), we have studied a different dimension of the labour market experience and focused on the effect of increased trade on the risk to income (the variance of

Trade in Everything: Christmas Nutcrackers

It's definitely the Christmas season. Santa yesterday, now a reader points me to this story about nutcrackers: Low-cost imports of nutcrackers pose a risk to the age-old woodcraft of eastern Germany's Erzgebirge region, famous for its Christmas ornaments. The Chinese-made replicas may increasingly look like the

Santa's Trade Violations

According to Patrick Thomas and Tom Barry, he is dumping, not to mention violating IP rules, destroying the environment, using genetically modified reindeer and abusing his labor.

Brower on Investment Disciplines in FTAs

Over at the Kluwer Arbitration blog, Charles Brower II has an excellent post about possibilities for “rebalancing” or “recalibration” of substantive investment disciplines in FTAs, including NAFTA. Two of the key points are as follows:1. It's not easy to amend the investment provisions of FTAs.When it