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Simon Lester

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

Eligibility Criteria for U.S. Trade Preference Programs

From a statement by USTR General Counsel Tim Reif to the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, related to the eligibility criteria for U.S. trade preference programs: First, the criteria were intended to and have achieved four core goals: (1) strengthened the rule of law in

Concurrent AD/CVD Investigations by DOC in the NME Context

Yes, I know, that's a lot of acronyms in the post title! Those who read my previous post on this topic may have noticed that I buried the NME issues towards the end. You may have suspected that was because I wasn't quite sure what to

Old Hawaiian Case Applying GATT (Articles III and XX) Law

I've often seen references to the 1957 Hawaiian court case Territory v. Ho, in which a Hawaiian law requiring those selling foreign eggs to display a "WE SELL FOREIGN EGGS" sign was struck down as a violation of the GATT (via Article VI, clause 2 of

More Krugman on China's Currency Value

I'm beginning to think that Paul Krugman is the only one more obsessed with the Chinese currency value issue than I am (not that I agree with all of his views of the issue, but I do share his interest). As Dan Drezner notes, here is yet another

The Burley Tobacco Producers Make Their Case

From an op-ed by the president of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association, in The Hill: Less than a month after Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Washington to lecture President Obama about the dangers of “Buy American” laws, his government passed a “Buy Canada” tobacco ban that violates Canada’s