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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

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

USTR Susan Schwab's Views on Carbon Border Measures

From a speech in Indonesia: There has been a great deal of media attention based on statements from those who propose restricting imports based on carbon intensity of production methods. This is the wrong action at wrong time. Restricting imports easily leads to covert protectionism, undermining both environment and economic

WTO Rules and Free Speech

This will be a fun case to watch if it goes anywhere: The California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC), a free speech and government transparency group, has launched an initiative to use international trade laws to force the government of China to end its censorship of the Internet and to remove

More Reaction to the Draft Rules Text

For those in DC: THE AMBASSADOR'S DART BOARD: Responses to the Doha "Rules" Paper Published by Chairman Guillermo Valles Galmés Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:30 – 10:30 A.M. (Registration opens at 8:00 a.m.) The National Press Club 529 14th Street, NW, 13th

International Tribunals Don't Like Zeroing

It's not just the WTO. Last week, a NAFTA Chapter 19 tribunal that was considering a Department of Commerce AD ruling found zeroing to be impermissible: In sum, on the issue of the permissibility of zeroing, the Panel remands the matter back to Commerce to re-calculate Mittal’

The Zeroing Negotiations: U.S. Industry Reaction

When I read Brazil's reaction to the draft rules on zeroing, and then I come across the following reaction from a U.S. industry group, I start to wonder how a deal will ever get done: The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws ("CSUSTL") expressed

Postscript on the Appellate Body Appointments

What Chinese Appellate Body appointee Zhang Yuejiao had to say: "I will do my best with unwavering impartiality," Zhang said Thursday. She will take her seat in June in the seven-member Appellate Body, which issues final rulings in trade disputes. "You can rest assured that I