International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Guest Post: Does Economic Interdependence Yield a Peace Dividend?

This is a guest post from Michael Trebilcock, Emeritus University Professor of Law and Economics, University of Toronto An almost timeless debate going back to philosophers in Greek and Roman times surrounds the issue of whether increased economic interdependence between and among states in the form of cross-border trade and

The ITC Report on Distributional Effects of US Trade and Trade Policy: What about Protectionism?

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission released its report on Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers (Inv. No. 332-587). The report had been requested by USTR, as follows: under authority delegated by the President to the United States Trade Representative and pursuant to

What Do the Midterm Elections Mean for U.S. Trade Policy?

Don't get too excited by the title of this post. The short answer to the question is, I don't know for sure, but probably not much. Nevertheless, I do have a couple thoughts here that may or may not be correct. First, I suspect the Biden

Guest Post: The EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument: Balancing Ambiguity

This is a guest post from Mariana de Andrade, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Milano-Biccoca and international sanctions and export control consultant for Studio Legal Padovan (Milan, Italy). The views expressed in this contribution are exclusively those of the author. In December 2021, the European Commission submitted a

Russia Was a Market Economy, Now It's Not

The U.S. Commerce Department recently made a decision to classify Russia as a non-market economy, after last year finding that it was a market economy. I have posted the executive summary of the Commerce memo below (the full memo is 101 pages!). When reading through the Commerce reasoning, it

2022 ANZSIL International Economic Law Interest Group Workshop

Next week, the 2022 ANZSIL International Economic Law Interest Group Workshop will be held via Zoom. The full program is here. You can register to attend here. Check the times carefully. It runs from 18 November 2022 at 9am (AEDT)/11am (NZ time) to 2:30pm (AEDT)/4:30pm (NZ

Assistant USTR Speaks about WTO Reform

At a symposium today hosted by the Yeutter Institute, Andrea Durkin (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, WTO and Multilateral Affairs) said the following about U.S. views and efforts on WTO reform (I don't have any comments on what she said, just thought people might be interested): So

Arguments about GATT Exceptions in Relation to Non-GATT Goods Agreements in the DS597 Dispute

Last year, I wrote about a U.S. argument in the U.S. - Rules of Origin (DS597) case that "the essential security exception of Article XXI of the GATT 1994 applies to the multilateral agreements on trade in goods, including the Agreement on Rules of Origin." One

Sanctions and Boycotts as "Engines for Worldmaking"

In a paper called "The Possible Worlds of Economic Sanctions" that takes a brief look at the history of economic sanctions and speculates about their future, law prof Ben Heath writes the following: Any attempt to understand the future of economic statecraft is a bit like gazing into

Some Questions about the Biden Administration's Plans for Industrial Subsidies

This is from a speech last week by White House NEC Director Brian Deese on "Executing a Modern American Industrial Strategy": Some have raised a valid concern that countries may keep one-upping each other on ever-larger industrial subsidies, reducing their efficiency. But the investments we’re making will