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Simon Lester

The USMCA Review (If the USMCA Survives!) Needs To Address the National Security Loophole

I don't know if the USMCA is going to survive all the U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with the Canadian and Mexican retaliation. Will the agreement make it to the USMCA review next year? We'll see. If we do make it though, I

Will a "Zombie USMCA" Survive the Tariff Onslaught?

With all the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canada and Mexico (under IEEPA already, under Section 232 soon, maybe under Section 301, and various other possibilities as well), and with the Canadian and Mexican tariff retaliation, how much is left of the USMCA? In economic terms, the creation

Trump on Reciprocal Tariffs

In last night's address to Congress, Trump said the following about reciprocal tariffs: Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada

Free Speech and Trade Policy

In my last post, I briefly mentioned this point about free speech from Trump's recent memo on "Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties": The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative shall

The Trump Administration's New Push on Foreign Digital Taxes and Regulations

I have done a number of posts over the years on what U.S. trade officials mean when they talk about foreign digital taxes and regulations "discriminating" against U.S. companies. Are they talking about the intent of the measure or just its effect? On the latter, is

Lighthizer's Proposal for the Trading System

Former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had a recent NY Times op-ed in which he argues for some big changes to the trading system. He starts off by complaining about other governments' industrial policies: What brought down the postwar trading order was the rise in many countries of

Some Quick Thoughts on "Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs"

I'm going to flesh this out a bit more later, but I wanted to post something now on today's Trump administration memo on reciprocal trade and tariffs, which involves agency investigations of "the harm to the United States from any non-reciprocal trade arrangements adopted by

Tooze vs. Tai on the Political Impact of the Biden Administration's Policies

At a recent conference in Brussels, on a panel entitled "The Battleground for Global Economic Domination: What's Ahead for Europe, as the US and China Fight for Supremacy?", Adam Tooze of Columbia University and former U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai had an exchange on the

Notes from the Jamieson Greer Hearing

Jamieson Greer had his Senate nomination hearing yesterday. Here are a few exchanges that I found to be of interest. Historical Examples of Successful Universal Tariffs Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked a great question about the historical record of universal tariffs, which is something that Trump has talked about: Wyden:

Some Questions for Jamieson Greer

Jamieson Greer is Trump's nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, and he will have a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, February 6. This is a great opportunity and honor for Jamieson, and along with it comes his own tag on the IELP blog. I hope he appreciates/tolerates