International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Offshoring As A Way To Promote Development

Over at Eyes on Trade, Todd Tucker cites this WSJ article and expresses concerns about offshoring of Japanese animation jobs to China, Korea and Viet Nam. I’m going to use his post as a jumping off point for the following questions about offshoring: Isn’t offshoring good for economic

The Economist on the Trade / Cap and Trade Conflict

The Economist has a good article discussing the likely trade conflicts arising from cap and trade measures. They talk about the problem of countries reducing emissions by varying amounts, and the possibility of companies relocating production to "carbon havens." According to the article, studies suggest that the scope

Using RTAs to Reduce Trade Remedies

Tania Voon has posted a working paper entitled “Eliminating Trade Remedies from the WTO: Lessons from Regional Trade Agreements” on SSRN. Some key excerpts:[This paper] explores RTAs as positive models to reduce or eliminate the use of trade remedies among WTO Members, providing a concrete case study of the

GATT Article XV:4 and Intent

GATT Article XV:4 states in part: [WTO Members] shall not, by exchange action, frustrate* the intent of the provisions of this Agreement ... Thus, Article XV:4 refers to the "intent of the provisions of this Agreement." One provision of "this Agrement" (that is, the GATT)

More China Currency Scholarship

From Christoph Herrmann, in the European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2010, an article entitled "Don Yuan: China’s “Selfish” Exchange Rate Policy and International Economic Law." From the intro: "This paper will deal with the question whether the exchange rate regime operated by the People’s

Pascal Lamy on Buy National

I'm often surprised by how much support there is for "Buy National" provisions (see, e.g., the proposal of many U.S. Democratic house members here). WTO DG Pascal Lamy, in his 2009 annual report on trade and trade-related developments, discusses the issue in the context

The China Currency "Nuclear Option"

From Dean Baker (via Todd Tucker): ... the US doesn't have to "pressure" China to boost the yuan. Contrary to what you may have read in the paper, Washington is not helpless in this story. Just as China can set a value of its currency against the

"New Directions" in U.S. Trade Policy

Some Democrats (127 in the House) are urging a "new direction" for U.S. trade policy. For instance: H.R. 3012, TRADE Act ... The bill spells out what should be in trade agreements including standards on: labor, environment, food and product safety, agriculture, human rights, currency anti-manipulation rules,

Jagdish Bhagwati, Trade Agreement Skeptic?

Via Todd Tucker at Eyes on Trade, I came across a Reason magazine interview with Jagdish Bhagwati. The whole piece is interesting, but I'm going to focus on this one part: reason: Was NAFTA a mistake? Bhagwati: I think in retrospect, yes. It’s not a slam dunk

Today's DSB Meeting

A quick run-down, with links: -- Panel requested by Canada and Mexico on U.S. country of origin labeling (DS384 and 386): established. -- Panel requested by the U.S. on EC restrictions on poultry imports (DS389): established. -- Panel requested by the EC, Mexico and the U.S. on