International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Sign in Subscribe

Simon Lester

The Tuna-Dolphin Panel

The new Tuna-Dolphin WTO dispute could be trouble for the system, which is bad, but will have some very interesting legal issues, which is good (or fun to follow, anyway). Among other things, there will be issues related to: (1) choice of forum as between NAFTA and the WTO; (2)

The Bananas Dispute Settlement: Who Wins?

European consumers: Banana prices are set to fall after the longest trade dispute in EU history was settled in Geneva today. Latin American exporters: The change means banana prices in the EU will drop 11 percent while Latin American producers will see exports climb, said Giovanni Anania, a professor at

Financial Contribution to One Entity, Benefit to Another

I can recall talking with a number of people about the issue of whether a subsidy may exist where the financial contribution goes to one entity, but the benefit is to another. It appears that this issue has come up in the DS379 dispute. Here's a question from

The Shortest WTO Dispute Written Submission Ever

It's the U.S. first written submission in the U.S. - AD Measures on Carrier Bags (DS383) case, related to zeroing. It's five paragraphs long. Here's the fifth and final paragraph: 5. The United States acknowledges the accuracy of Thailand’s description of

Policy Space for Industrialization: How Constraining Is The WTO?

I've blogged about Dani Rodrik and policy space before. He is now making similar points related to the specific case of China, arguing that China's currency undervaluation is a substitute for the protectionist policies it can no longer undertake as a result of joining the WTO:

Accountability at the WTO

From a letter by Daniel Bradlow to the FT: The World Bank and the regional development banks have all created independent accountability mechanisms that can investigate bank-funded operations in which non-state actors believe they have been harmed by the failure of these organisations to comply with their own operational policies.

Chinese Tire Tariffs: A Panel Has Been Requested

I have not seen much written about the U.S. tariffs on Chinese tires since the consultations request was filed. We are now on to the next stage, though, as China has just filed its panel request. At first glance, the main differences between the requests are that the panel

Trade in Everything: Musicians

From the Washington Post (via Reuters): Cuban musicians are returning to perform in the United States after a long freeze on such visits, seizing the opportunity of friendlier overtures toward Havana from U.S. President Barack Obama. Well-known Cuban musicians are being granted visas to perform at U.S. venues

Nuclear Waste, Trade and Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

My post on the WTO-legality of an import ban on nuclear waste generated a fair amount of discussion (including a reference to the movie Back to the Future!), so I thought I'd follow-up with this quote from Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns, who explains his opposition to the import

Will The U.S. Challenge Foreign Trade Remedies At the WTO?

Reuters reports: "It is unfortunate that China decided to impose provisional countervailing duties on imports of grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) from the United States," said Carol Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office. "We do not believe that the imports in