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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

Esserman and Howse Rethink the WTO

At Forbes.com, Sue Esserman and Rob Howse rethink the WTO. One of their points is the following: Issues of global equity are simultaneously becoming more challenging; the WTO cannot afford to ignore the question of who gains and who loses and the fairness of those consequences. In collaboration with

Free Trade Unilateralism from Ron Paul

Ron Paul sets out his views on free trade in an interview with CFR: How would you approach globalization and trade differently from a McCain administration or the current Bush administration would? [Ron Paul:] I consider myself the strongest advocate of free trade. I don't want any tariffs

The Role of Precedent: What the WTO Members Think (Part 2)

A while back, I mentioned a discussion among the WTO Members, at a DSB meeting, on the role of precedent in WTO dispute settlement. This discussion was in the context of the U.S. - Stainless Steel (Mexico) dispute, where the AB made some statements that seemed to indicate a fairly

GSP and Climate Change

In the latest issue of the JIEL, Michael McKenzie discusses the interaction of climate change and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). He notes two ways that preferences could help fight climate change: The first way that preferential tariff treatment under a GSP scheme could be tied to the issue

Gender Discrimination through Tariffs

I'm a bit late to this, but it's an interesting case and I thought I should start following it. As an old NY Times article explains, there are often tariff differences in the U.S. tariff schedule between men's and women's versions

GATT Era Arguments We Are Not Likely To See Today

From the EEC - Import Restrictions case, adopted in 1983: 12. In the view of the European Community, in order to judge the compatibility of these restrictions with the provisions of GATT, it was not enough to limit examination to a purely legal exercise. All restrictions with which the Panel was

Can WTO Membership Be Used as a Bargaining Chip?

Perhaps not very effectively, if the country says they don't want it: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia saw no advantages from WTO membership and should freeze some commitments made during entry talks to the trade body, Interfax news agency reported. "We propose continuing

Taxing Big Engine Cars

I'm sure many of you remember the U.S. - Auto Taxes GATT dispute. There were several U.S. measures at issue, one of which was a "gas guzzler" tax. Car manufacturers were required to pay taxes on their automobiles based on the fuel efficiency, with higher

Carbon Labels

I love labeling as a solution to many trade-environment conflicts. I think it can be done in a way that is consistent with trade rules, and can also have a positive impact on environmental problems. So I was happy to read this piece in the Guardian: Japan is to

More on International Antitrust and Pro Sports Leagues

It's probably clear to regular readers by now that I like sports. I work sports issues into this blog whenever I can find a conceivable connection to IEL. I recently came across two more such issues, both related to international aspects of antitrust, although it has taken me