International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Women in International Economic Law: organizational meeting

From the founders of Women in International Economic Law: Women in International Economic Law (WIEL), a new global organization in international law, will hold its organizational meeting from 1.30 to 3 pm on Tuesday 15 July, in conjunction with the inaugural meeting of the Society of International Economic Law

Trade in Everything: Fireworks (July 4th Edition)

From MSNBC: It was eerily quiet at Aaron Waugh’s fireworks stand in Princeton, W.Va. “Pretty slow, pretty slow,” he concluded. “More people need to come in.” The solitude at Rocket World, which opened last week, is being replicated at fireworks shops and seasonal stands across the country. Just

Trade, Inequality and Wal-Mart

Over at VoxEU, Christian Broda argues: Conventional wisdom says globalisation has increased US income inequality. This column says that is dead wrong, as China and Wal-Mart have increased the purchasing power of the poor more than the rich. He explains: Inflation differentials between the rich and poor dramatically change

60,000 Pages of WTO Jurisprudence

That's what the Economist says. Does that sound right? I've never tried to count, although people have suggested the idea to me before. I probably should, I just can't face the prospect of opening each report and checking page counts. And dealing with methodological

Investment Treaty Empiricism

Over at Opinio Juris, Susan Franck talks about empiricism and international law, with a focus on investment treaty decisions, noting the differences between the rhetoric and the reality of investment treaty decisions. David Zaring offers some comments.

New Paper: "Currency Manipulation" and World Trade

Robert Staiger and Alan Sykes have a new Working Paper on "'Currency Manipulation' and World Trade." Here's the abstract: Central bank intervention in foreign exchange markets may, under some conditions, stimulate exports and retard imports. In the past few years, this issue has moved

Strong Words from Bhagwati about Preferential Trade

From his new book: The Pandemic of PTAs There is yet another irony. The interwar proliferation of preferences was a result of an uncoordinated pursuit of protectionism, itself aided by the breakdown of financial stability and macroeconomic equilibrium in the world economy. But the current tide of preferences has been

Domestic Tap Water Versus Imported Bottled Water

From AFP: A debate over water is boiling over in the United States and elsewhere amid growing environmental concerns about bottled water and questions about safety of tap water. While largely symbolic, the vote highlighted a growing movement opposing regular use of bottled water because of its plastic waste and

Coming Soon: The China - Auto Parts Decision

Let's say a country has bound a 10% tariff duty on auto parts, but a 25% duty on automobiles. To reduce the amount of duties paid, foreign companies have an incentive to export parts rather than completed automobiles. The parts can then be assembled into finished automobiles after

Call for Papers: Georgetown Journal of International Law

A Call for Papers:We welcome submissions that cover current developments in international trade law. Articles may include issues concerning the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission, regional