Appellate Body Bios
Following-up on Joost's post below, here are some fairly recent bios of the four new AB Members:
Lilia Bautista (Philippines)
Jennifer Hillman (US)
Shotaro Oshima (Japan)
Zhang Yuejiao (China)
Simon Lester
John Edwards' Trade Vision
In the context of opposing the U.S. - Peru FTA, John Edwards said the following:
I believe we need to follow four principles to make sure that globalization works for everyone, starting right here at home.
First, our multilateral and bilateral trade deals and unilateral trade preferences must help America.
"I don't want this party to be viewed as an anti-trade party"
... said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in support of the U.S. - Peru FTA, which passed the House by a wide margin. Other Democrats supporting the deal had the following to say:
"This is the first step toward a new trade agreement," said Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan,
Two PhD Positions at the University of Maastricht
The Faculty of Law of Maastricht University is offering two Ph.D. positions in the field of International Economic Law. The Ph.D. projects will be carried out in the framework of the Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation.
One Ph.D. project concerns the tension between private-sector standards
Dennis Kucinich's Trade Vision
It seems very unlikely that we will ever see a Kucinich Presidency, but nonetheless I found this statement of Kucinich's thoughts on trade interesting:
The first act in office is going to be to cancel NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] and withdraw from the WTO [World Trade
Notes from the Bananas 21.5 Panel Hearing
As announced by the WTO, the recent panel hearings in the EC - Bananas, Article 21.5 dispute brought by the U.S. were open to the public. Unlike some other recent open panel hearings, for this one the public could view the questions from the panel and the parties'
Coming Soon: The Gambling Arbitration Ruling
One of Antigua's lawyers says the Arbitrator's ruling in the Gambling case will be out on November 30. I will be very impressed if they can reach a decision by then -- they have a lot to sort through.
He also said that any IP sanctions might
Trade in Everything: North Korean Tourism
The Economist provides the details:
GLOBAL capitalism has worked many wonders, but where in the free world can one see 10,000 children dancing in synchronisation, dressed as eggs? Such weirdness makes North Korea, a basket-case state, a must for a certain sort of backpacker. Tourist visas have been
Mitt Romney's Trade Vision
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has put forward the outlines of his vision for trade, which he calls the "Reagan Zone Of Economic Freedom" (hat tip to Eyes on Trade). One aspect is the following:
Starting with a core of U.S. free trade agreement partners, Governor Romney
Trade in Everything: Mercenary Services
I found this Bloomberg article on Fijian mercenaries very interesting from a trade perspective:
Since the 1970s, this impoverished and remote remnant of the British Empire has positioned itself as a discount-soldier surplus store. Its best customer has been the United Nations' peacekeeping operations. Today, on the post-