International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

The Possibility of a U.S.-EU Resolution on the Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

In an article from last week, Politico Pro had some interesting quotes from U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the issue of the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. I wish I had the full transcript on this, but I don't, so I'll have to

Will the Biden Administration Add the Paris Agreement to the USMCA List of Environmental Agreements?

I've complained before about the lack of transparency in bilateral and regional trade agreements, so I appreciate the public virtual session of the Inaugural Meeting of the Environment Committee of the USMCA/CUSMA/T-MEC. And I appreciate our excellent Cato Trade Policy Center RA Alfredo Carrillo Obregon for

The Airbus-Boeing Truce: What Exactly was Agreed?

Today the U.S. and EU announced a 5 year suspension of the tariffs that were in place after the WTO dispute settlement rulings in the Airbus-Boeing subsidy dispute. Lifting the tariffs is good news (although the U.S. made it clear that if the EU violates any "red

Katherine Tai on Labor Issues in the USMCA and at the WTO

In a speech today to the AFL-CIO, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai said the following: The USMCA agreement is a good example of what can happen when labor is at the table. It’s not perfect, but because we collaborated closely with President Trumka and many of the union

Cato Online Event (June 21): Can International Rules Improve Domestic Regulation of Digital Trade?

I was a little late to the party on digital trade agreements, so I'm trying to play catch-up. In order to educate myself, I decided to put together a Cato panel on the issues. Here's the description: Can International Rules Improve Domestic Regulation of Digital Trade?

The Biden Administration's Possible Use of Section 232

When the Biden administration took office, many of us hoped they would undo the domestic policy and international relations damage caused by the Trump administration's use of Section 232 and Section 301 to impose tariffs. In at least some cases, there were real underlying problems of various sorts

Note from Tom Prusa on World Bank’s Temporary Trade Barriers Database

This is from econ prof Tom Prusa: World Bank’s Temporary Trade Barriers Database Updated After at least 5 years without an update I recently discovered that the World Bank’s Temporary Trade Barriers Database was updated in March 2021. This database collects information on the use of temporary trade

The EU's Counterproposal on COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments

After the surprise of the United States coming out in support of a TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and related products, everyone has been looking to the EU and other wealthy countries to see if they would come around and support the general idea of a waiver. Negotiating a waiver

The Lack of Transparency of FTA Commissions and Committees

The first USMCA Free Trade Commission meeting finished up last week. Here is the trilateral statement summarizing what happened: During the [the first meeting of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Free Trade Commission (FTC) on May 18, 2021], the Ministers reviewed the work already underway to advance our cooperation

Investment Treaties and a New Legal Imagination

From the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment: Investment Treaties and a New Legal Imagination May 26, 202111:00 AM - 12:00 PMONLINE Please register here. Foreign investors have a privileged position under investment treaties, enjoying strong rights, no obligations, and the ability to rely on a highly efficient enforcement