International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Sign in Subscribe

Simon Lester

Trade Talk from the Final Republican Debate

The final Republican primary debate was held last week in Iowa. There were a few references to trade issues, many of which were vague and difficult to characterize (e.g., the usual references to "free and fair trade"). But this statement from John McCain jumped out at me:

An Argument for Carbon Restrictions on Imports

From a NY Times op-ed, here is an argument that carbon consumption should be the focus of carbon regulation, which necessarily requires carbon border measures: A problem would arise, however, if a producer needed to buy permits to make televisions in a country with a carbon cap, while no permits

John Edwards' Views on Carbon Border Measures

He seems to like them: I will also require strong environmental standards so multinational companies cannot profit by exploiting weak environmental laws and enforcement in some countries. For example, after the U.S. has capped its greenhouse gas pollution as I have proposed, trade policy could be used if necessary

Gutierrez Speaks on the Chinese Film Ban

From news reports: China has suspended imports of American films, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said here today, as he urged the mainland to lift a tight quota on foreign movies. China allows just 20 foreign films to be shown in the country's cinemas each year but it

The EU-ACP EPAs

I've only been following the EU-ACP negotiations from a distance, and there were a number of aspects that I found confusing. For example, how serious was the talk about an end of year deadline? A good FT article from today offers thoughts and insights on a lot of

Zeroing Showdown

Reuters reports: The United States squared off against other World Trade Organisation members on Wednesday over its use of import penalties, an issue diplomats see as the latest obstacle to a new global trade deal. The U.S. view: "It is a very serious issue," U.S. ambassador

Peter Sutherland on the Doha Round and Hillary Clinton's Remarks

From an FT interview: CP: Does Hillary Clinton’s intervention suggest that the WTO is effectively finished as the main forum for liberalising trade? PS: Absolutely not. Absolutely not, even if those policies were pursued in an administration in the future I don’t believe that they would have that

A Domestic SPS Dispute

If Florida and California were sovereign states, they might be at the WTO with this: Last week, the Florida Department of Agriculture issued a new regulation requiring all citrus fruit shipped from California to Florida to be inspected, fumigated and certified free of a fungal disease known as Septoria spot.

The Gambling Arbitration Ruling: Coming Soon (Maybe)

I feel like I am repeating myself here, but this is what is being reported: "We feel pretty confident about our case, to be honest. We really feel like we have the upper hand here," Mark Mendel, a private attorney representing Antigua, told Reuters ahead of an expected

Softwood Lumber Hearing Open to the Public

For those in New York, from USTR's web site: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) wishes to inform the public of an opportunity to view a public hearing before the Tribunal considering the arbitration under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement Between the Government of the