International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Sign in Subscribe

Simon Lester

China in WTO Dispute Settlement

Forbes did an interesting two part series (actually, there may be more parts coming, I'm not sure) on China in WTO dispute settlement. From part 1: Facing a distressed export sector and rising protectionism amid the global economic crisis, the Chinese government will get more comfortable and aggressive

The Scope of GATT Article XX

From para. 7.498 of the Colombia - Ports of Entry WTO panel decision, circulated Monday: In any cases where a measure may violate a particular provision of the WTO Agreements, a number of exceptions – notably those included in Article XX of the GATT 1994 – allow WTO Members to justify

Another Alcohol Case?

WTO dispute settlement is littered with tax discrimination cases related to alcohol products. This article makes me think another might be on the way: Taiwan consumers welcome the imminent return of rice wine that carries a much lower price tag but provides much better quality and safety. They will soon

The Future of China's IP Protection

A couple months again, Bryan noted that press reports to the contrary, perhaps the U.S. did not actually do very well in the China - IPRs dispute. An Economist article from this week suggests that change may come despite the outcome in that case: Chinese firms are also increasingly

Protection from the Sun

No, not sunscreen. Economist Donald Boudreaux has something else in mind, as he makes the following point to argue against protectionism: So do you, Mr. Protectionist, also believe that Uncle Sam should force us Americans to pay a high tariff on sunlight before we are allowed to use it? After

Tuna-Dolphin Update

A WTO panel was established on Monday in the new tuna-dolphin dispute (DS381). During the meeting, the U.S. had this to say: * Mr. Chairman, the United States is disappointed that Mexico has chosen to move forward with its request for panel establishment a second time. * As we explained at

Bailouts and International Investment Law

From Anne van Aaken and Jürgen Kurtz, a brief paper entitled "THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: WILL STATE EMERGENCY MEASURES TRIGGER INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT DISPUTES?" From the conclusion: We draw two tentative conclusions, implicated in our analysis of potential liability under international investment treaties. First, there is clear evidence of

Trade and the Environment and Subsidies

There's a lot going on in this story about subsidies to U.S. pulp producers. I'm not sure exactly what all the trade implications are, but it's interesting enough that I'm going to talk about it anyway. As explained in the article,

Rachel Brewster on Carbon Tariffs

She thinks they are likely to be unfair: ... if the United States decides to apply a carbon tariff, then it must decide how much carbon it gets to produce compared with other countries. The Boxer-Lieberman-Warner bill, for example, determines whether another country's environmental regulation is comparable to the

Ron Kirk on Trade and Climate Change

USTR Ron Kirk talks about trade and climate change: I would like to emphasize the Administration's view that global climate change is a priority and that our response includes asserting U.S. leadership to establish a domestic cap-and-trade system and put us on a trajectory to gradually reduce