International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

New World Trade Law Textbook/Casebook

Apologies in advance for the shameless self-promotion, but I wanted to let everyone know that "World Trade Law: Text, Materials and Commentary" (co-authored with Bryan Mercurio, and also featuring Arwel Davies and Kara Leitner) has been published by Hart Publishing. For more information on the book,

Biodiesel Tit-for-Tat

From the EU: In a move which could trigger a new transatlantic trade row, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) said it was formally requsting the EU's executive Commission to hit U.S. imports with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties due to unfair subsidies."Since 2007, as

Development Aid for Education

Development aid can be very controversial. Are we giving enough? Is it for the right projects? Is it effective? Does it harm specific groups? Despite these tough issues, here is an example of a program with long-term benefits that I think just about everyone can get behind: Japan will

Food Prices and Export Restrictions

The recent rise in food prices seems to be causing some people to take a closer look at export restrictions: From Japan: Japanese Agriculture Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi said on Tuesday that Japan will propose that the World Trade Organisation set clear rules for food export restrictions imposed by producing countries.

Unsure about Offshoring

There's a lot of talk these days about the "offshoring" of jobs. For example, here is a recent press release from Global Trade Watch: “Offshoring” is the term businesses coined to describe their practice of sending work now performed in the United States to other countries.

IEL at the Supreme Court

Via Jonathan Dingel, I see that the Supreme Court will be taking up an anti-dumping issue: The Supreme Court said Monday it will rule on a case that could make it harder for U.S. companies to obtain protective tariffs on low-priced foreign goods. The dispute centers on

The Democratic Candidates on Investment Rules

Here are some statements from the Democratic candidates on investment rules in trade agreements, from responses to questions from the Pennsylvania Fair Trade Coalition (answers are in italics). Obama: 9. Will you commit to renegotiate NAFTA to eliminate its investor rules that allow private enforcement by foreign investors of these

Born To Trade?

Despite growing up in New Jersey, I was not a big Bruce Springsteen fan when I was younger. Over the years, though, I've come to appreciate him, and he is now one of my favorites. So, I was amused to stumble across this quote from a 1984 George

GSP Plus in Sri Lanka

From a Tamil Star editorial arguing that Sri Lanka should sign on to certain human rights treaties in order get access to preferential tariffs under the EU's GSP program: The regime appears to be suggesting in a communiqué that something in the nature of a conspiracy encompassing a

Tough Talk on China's Currency

The Democratic candidates were talking to the Alliance for American Manufacturing today, and they had some strong words on the Chinese currency issue. From Obama: It’s not just that China is following the path taken by so many other countries before it, and dumping goods into our market while