International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Achieving Domestic Free Trade

With all the talk of international trade negotiations, it's easy to forget that there may still be work to be done at the domestic level: As the [Canadian] premiers gather in Regina from August 5 to 7 for their Council of the Federation summer meeting, a business coalition

The Economist on Buying Local

The Economist has an article in this week's issue about the "Buy Local" movement, in which three reasons for buying local are put forward: * A "character" argument: "local and independent businesses have more individual character" and "are owned by your friends

Alan Sykes on Enforcing WTO Obligations

From the abstract of a paper called "Optimal Sanctions in the WTO: The Case for Decoupling (and the Uneasy Case for the Status Quo)," posted on SSRN: Various commentators have suggested that the current system of trade sanctions for violation of WTO obligations be replaced with financial compensation.

WTO Disputes: It's All About China These Days

Here are the 11 most recent WTO consultations requests: Dispute Name DS Number Complainant(s) Respondent Request Date European Communities - Definitive Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Iron or Steel Fasteners from China 397 China European Communities Jul 31, 2009 Philippines - Taxes on Distilled Spirits 396 European Communities Philippines Jul

Cash for Clunkers and MFN

Over at Opinio Juris, Roger Alford notes that the "Cash for Clunkers" program has seemed to favor non-U.S. car-makers such as Toyota and Honda over the U.S. car-makers (with the caveat that some Toyota and Honda cars are made, in part at least, in the U.

Charnovitz: USTR Refuses Public Disclosure of US-Russia Trade Agreement

One final Steve Charnovitz Eyes on Trade cross-post: by Steve Charnovitz This is a follow-up to my blog post of July 20, 2009 about my efforts to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to release the text of

Investor-State in FTAs

In the context of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Emergency Committee for American Trade makes the following point: The U.S.-Australia FTA did not include one vitally important component of a strong investment chapter, namely investor-state dispute settlement. ECAT very strongly urges that investor-state dispute settlement be included

In Praise of Trade Deficits

From the always provocative Don Boudreaux: Beyond contributing to American economic vitality, foreign investment here signals global confidence in that vitality. Investors go long only in assets or places that promise a reasonable prospect of future profits. These facts are why the recent decline in America's trade deficit

Mutual Assured Dumping

The AFP mentions the following interesting fact in relation to the WTO complaint by China against EU anti-dumping duties on fasteners (e.g., screws and bolts): In one of the biggest anti-dumping cases against China, the EU decided after an investigation to impose levies on imports of some Chinese fasteners,

WTO Litigation Costs and the Seal Products Case

I was recently talking to someone writing a paper about the costs of litigating WTO disputes, so I found the following quite interesting. Commenting on the Seal Products dispute, a lawyer who would probably know these things suggests the following in relation to that case: A WTO challenge would likely