Simon Lester

Robert Reich proposes putting labor standards in trade agreements, which is nothing new, except for this part: Encourage developing nations to raise their labor standards as their economies grow. The easiest way to do this is to require that they set a minimum wage that's half their median

Dan Ikenson of the Cato Institute and Robert Lighthizer of Skadden debate the fairness of the WTO dispute settlement system at CFR's web site.  Some excerpts: Ikenson: ... under what other international arrangements can a tiny country like Antigua and Barbuda win condemnation—and, in all likelihood, compel reform—

This is likely to be my first and only post about NASCAR. Reading my local paper today (the Palm Beach Post), I was struck by an article entitled "Toyota facing chilly reception in some NASCAR circles."  Apparently, Toyota has now entered some cars (they are a version of

Upon the request of the author, I'm linking to an article entitled Food or Filth? The European Paradox.  I don't mean to take sides in the debate by linking to it.  I just figure that it will give those for and against GMOs (as well as

It's not often that the internal workings of the WTO are discussed in the public sphere, so I'm always interested to read about it when they are.  Inter Press Service reports on the the success of women (or lack thereof) at moving up in the ranks

From Julia Qin: USTR targets FDI Incentives in China The US consultation request in the China subsidy case is now available on the WTO website (DSU358). Of the nine measures cited by the US as evidence of illegal subsidies, seven are incentives offered to foreign-invested enterprises (i.e., companies

How important is "development" to the Doha Round, which is officially titled the "Doha Development Agenda"?  In a recent Q & A, Charlene Barshefsky says that the reference to development was a "false pretense" for the round: [Daniel Altman]: Will the conclusion of the

We may not have seen the last of the carbon import tax controversy mentioned in the last post, but a more traditional trade/environment conflict is also brewing.  The Independent reports: The [UK] Government has claimed that World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules prevent it from banning the controversial use of

Perhaps following the advice of Joe Stiglitz, French President Jacques Chirac is talking about some sort of sanction on countries who are not taking sufficient action to protect the environment: President Jacques Chirac has demanded that the United States sign both the Kyoto climate protocol and a future agreement that

Following-up on Joel's post, here are some details on the U.S. case against Chinese subsidies, gathered from around the web. First, there is USTR's press release, which explains that: Several of the subsidy programs at issue appear to grant export subsidies, which provide incentives