International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Waiving Russia Adieu in the WTO? Post by Tomer Broude

This post is by law professor Tomer Broude of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem With the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine now about to enter its second month, concerns not only for the fate of civilians are rising, but also for democracy and the international rule of law. There

Prospects for the Green Steel Deal

The Roosevelt Institute held a webinar on Tuesday entitled "Green Steel Deal: A Transformative Trade Policy for Our Economy & Environment." I remain skeptical about this approach to reducing carbon emissions, but nevertheless I am following it with interest. U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai offered remarks at

USMCA Panel Composition in Autos ROO Dispute Announced

A third USMCA Chapter 31 state-state dispute is underway, with the panel having been composed in the Autos Rules of Origin dispute on March 22. There are five panelists on this one (which differs from the three panelists on the previous two cases): * Mr. Elbio Rosselli – Chairperson; * Ms. Kathleen Claussen

Katherine Tai on Beating Regulatory Systems Into Submission

During a press conference at the conclusion of the Dialogue on the Future of Atlantic Trade today, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai said this: Let us talk through and ask ourselves new sets of questions, not how do I beat your regulatory system into submission, or ... fend off your

Guest Post: Transforming World Trade and Investment Law for Sustainable Development?

This is a guest post from Prof. Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, European University Institute Florence The geopolitical conflicts and related trade wars (eg against China and Russia), climate change and other environmental disasters, global health and food crises, Russia’s military invasions and war crimes in Ukraine confront the UN and WTO

House Passes Bill Suspending Normal Trade Relations Treatment for Russia and Belarus

After a brief floor discussion, today the House of Representatives passed the "Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act" (H.R. 7108) with a vote of 424-8. The full text is here. A summary is here. In terms of comparisons to previous legislation in this area,

Guest Post: The Imitation Game: Recent Developments on Transnational Subsidies and Anticircumvention in Europe and the United States

This is a guest post by Victor Crochet* (trade lawyer and PhD candidate at Cambridge University) & Vineet Hegde (Doctoral Researcher at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, KU Leuven) Over the past few years, Western countries, and in particular, the European Union (“EU”), have been trying to rein

U.S. Legislation on MFN Withdrawal for Russia (and Belarus) May Finally Be Moving Forward

After lots of fits and starts, it looks like the U.S. (and others) will join Canada and withdraw MFN treatment for Russian and Belarusian imports. President Biden discussed this at a press conference today. Here are some of the key points he made: As Putin continues his merciless assault,

House Approves Russian Energy Ban and Push for Russian WTO Suspension, But No U.S. MFN Withdrawal for Russia Yet

Late last night, the House passed a bill that would suspend Russian energy imports, but the bill had a proposed MFN withdrawal provision taken out (at the request of the White House apparently, although the reasons for this are not completely clear to me, as I've heard competing

Ukraine and Russia at the WTO

Thanks to Bryce Baschuk of Bloomberg, who posted the documents on Twitter, we have a letter written by Ukraine to the Chair of the WTO General Council regarding cutting of trade with Russia, and a letter Russia wrote in response. It's the trade response of other countries to