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Simon Lester

Simon Lester

Co-founder of WorldTradeLaw.net and China Trade Monitor. Non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute.

http://simonlester.com

Follow-up on the Asbestos Case

The WTO asbestos dispute seems long over (thank goodness, many people would say), but some issues related to exporting asbestos are still out there. The Economist reports: FOR more than a decade, workers in hazmat suits have been boring into the walls and ceilings of Canada’s parliament buildings to

Tuna III?

I haven't seen much detail about this, but there are two reports of a new WTO complaint by Mexico against U.S. tuna restrictions: The Mexican government says it has formally requested World Trade Organization consultations on U.S. labeling restrictions that it says effectively exclude Mexican tuna

Why Do We Have SPS Agreement Article 5.1?

Every time I think about SPS Agreement Article 5.1, as we have been in relation to the Hormones II AB report, the following question occurs to me: Why is there an international trade rule requiring SPS measures to be based on a risk assessment? Put another way, what is

More Online Gambling Tensions

Another front opens up in the gambling dispute: A judge in Kentucky seized the Web addresses of more than 140 Internet-gambling sites last week, the latest example of how local governments can affect online businesses with physical operations beyond their jurisdictions. ... In the Kentucky case, Circuit Court Judge Thomas

Trade in Last Night's Debate

From the transcript (nothing really new here, but I'll post it anyway): McCain: ... By the way, when Sen. Obama said he would unilaterally renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Canadians said, "Yes, and we'll sell our oil to China." You don'

A New Era of Strategic Trade Policy?

In the Guardian, Kevin Gallagher has a short article (based on a longer study here) in which he suggests a possible comback for strategic trade policy: Change is in the air. As we know in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the US has justified – like never before – a strong

Blustein Reimagines Global Trade, without Bilateralism

Brookings just issued a report entitled "Top 10 Global Economic Challenges Facing America's 44th President." The introduction and one of the chapters were written by Lael Brainard (who has been mentioned as a possible U.S. Trade Rep. in an Obama administration). One of the chapters

Trade Policy: Obama vs. McCain

WITA had a recent event on the trade policy differences between an Obama and a McCain administration. Lael Brainard represented the Obama campaign and Phil Levy represented the McCain campaign. The event was not available online as far as I could tell, but a couple news organizations covered it. Here&

WTO Scholars' Forum: WTO and Fisheries Subsidies

A new WTO Scholars' Forum event: Moot Court, Faculty of Law, University College London (UCL), Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, WC1H OEGTo register free of charge please contact Forum administrator, Ann Tucker, ann.tucker@ucl.ac.ukMargaret Young is the William Charnley Research Fellow in Public International Law at Pembroke

Tainted Milk and Trade Rules

I often hear trade critics say that WTO rules prevent countries from taking action to ensure food safety, but do they really? In response to the terrible Chinese tainted milk scare, some countries are taking action against imports. For example: the European Union will require testing of all imported products