International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

The Problem of Food Aid and Local Production

A proposal from President Bush on food aid: As America increases its food assistance, it's really important that we transform the way that food aid is delivered. In my State of the Union address this year, I called on Congress to support a proposal to purchase up to

Regulating Online Gambling, er, Predicting

From the AP: The rising popularity of markets where guesses are wagered on the outcome of everything from presidential elections to celebrity marriages has led to a situation that, well, many had predicted. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday said it is considering whether these markets should be regulated,

What's Going on with Fast Track?

Claude Barfield explains the recent fast track battle and rule changes resulting from the Colombia FTA fight: The Showdown Tellingly, the planning of the coup against the fast-track process came, not from the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade, but rather from the Rules Committee. According

Aircraft Subsidy Wars

No, not Airbus versus Boeing. This time it's Missouri versus Quebec, fighting over an assembly plant for a Bombardier airplane: Bombardier's preferred site is Mirabel, near Montreal. In 2005, Ottawa offered $350 million in refundable assistance and seems to be sticking to this. Quebec promised a

Obama on Ethanol

With Obama's fairly good showing last night, I thought it worth looking at some of his trade positions again. Back in Iowa, he firmly supported ethanol subsidies. But will the ongoing food price crisis change his views? Maybe so, based on his recent statements in an appearance on

OPEC WTO Legislation Introduced

From a press release by Senator Frank Lautenberg: Late last week, U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced legislation to force action against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for its anti-competitive practices and illegal export quotas on oil, which ultimately lead to higher gas prices here

Possible New Investment Treaty Rules for Non-Discrimination

From a Norwegian draft model BIT (MS Word document) that reader Perry Bechky pointed me to: Article 3: NATIONAL TREATMENT 1. Each Party shall accord to investors of the other Party and to their investments, treatment no less favourable than the treatment it accords in like circumstances[FN2] to its

Clinton and Obama on Currency

From the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton takes on the China currency issue: The China Currency Coalition ("CCC") today greeted enthusiastically the announcement by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) that she has become a co-sponsor of S. 796, the Fair Currency Act of 2007, also known as the Bunning-Stabenow-Bayh bill

Upcoming WTO Scholars' Forum Events

Some upcoming events in London: The Directors of the WTO Scholars' Forum would like to invite you to a series of events organized in May: 1. Talk by Professor Don Regan on 'What Are Trade Agreements For?' Thursday 15 May 2008, 2-4pm, Moot Court, UCL Laws, London

Panels versus the Appellate Body: The DS344 Appeal

Some of you may recall the recent panel ruling in U.S. - Stainless Steel (Mexico) (DS344), where a panel decided not to follow the Appellate Body's "zeroing" jurisprudence, saying the following in this regard: 7.115 We respectfully disagree with the Appellate Body's