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Simon Lester

Trade in Everything: Pygmy Hippoes

From the Economist: The Caricuao zoo in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, is a shadow of its former self. Its last giraffe, Napoleón, died 15 years ago. Ruperta, the last elephant, has been alone for over two years. Gone are the zebras, kangaroos and ostriches. Its director, Carlos Audrines, attributes the

Russia, Georgia and WTO Accession

From Reuters: A top Bush administration official on Tuesday played down any connection between Russia's military action in Georgia and Moscow's long-term bid to join the World Trade Organization. "We've worked with Russia in terms of the WTO accession and they still

A China-Vermont Trade Dispute?

From a Vermont TV station's web site: A state senator from Chittenden County said a letter received from a Chinese official criticizing legislation she has pending in Montpelier "flies in the face of state sovereignty and democratic principles." Sen. Virginia Lyons of Chittenden County chairs the

A Novel Application of Non-Violation

Speaking of WTO legal claims that are a bit of a stretch (which I feel like I've been offering quite a bit of recently) ... Typically, the "benefits" at issue in a non-violation claim are those resulting from a trading partner's tariff concessions. So,

Another Open Panel Hearing

We can add Australia and New Zealand to the club of Members requesting open panel hearings in their disputes: At the request of the parties in the dispute “Australia — Measures Affecting the Importation of Apples from New Zealand (WT/DS367)”, the dispute panel has agreed to open its first substantive

The Democratic Party's Trade Platform

From the draft Democratic party platform: Smart, Strong, and Fair Trade Policies We believe that trade should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs, while also laying a foundation for democratic, equitable, and sustainable growth around the world. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global

Tariff Discrimination that Hurts the Poor

Via Jonathan Dingel, I see that Ed Gresser of the Progressive Policy Institute is talking about how a large percentage of tariff duties are paid by the poor: It is only a slight exaggeration to argue that the tariff system has essentially evolved into a tax on clothes and shoes,

Policy Space

From a letter to the editor in the Economist, written by Robert Wade of LSE, commenting on the Doha negotiations: Several developing countries now have big enough markets to give them leverage over rules of access to their markets, and their governments could take the lead in revising current rules

Gambling Updates

My favorite source for Gambling case news, the Antigua Sun, has this update: A new deadline has been put in effect for Antigua and the US to reach an agreement concerning the ongoing online gaming dispute. The date of 1 Oct., has been set as the time the two countries

Tariff Preference Discrimination

Via Eyes on Trade, I came across an article in Newsweek about a request by Chevron that the U.S. stop giving certain tariff preferences to Ecuador: Few legal battles have been more exotic than the lawsuit tried over the past five years in a steamy jungle courtroom in Ecuador