International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Enforcing the China Phase One Deal

As I explained here, I am skeptical about the enforcement part of the U.S.-China phase one trade deal. In my view, when one party believes another party is in violation, it really helps to have a neutral dispute settlement process under which a panel can issue a ruling

Did the DSU Drafters Expect DSU Article 11 Appeals?

In the past, I have argued that because the substance of DSU Article 11 existed in the GATT prior to the creation of the DSU, this provision was not designed to be used with the DSU appeals process. But I was poking around in some DSU negotiating history recently, and

Georgetown Journal of International Law Annual Trade Issue

This is from the Georgetown Journal of International Law: The Georgetown Journal of International Law (GJIL) is accepting article submissions on topics broadly related to international trade law for its annual trade issue (Issue 52.3). Deadline for submission is February 15th, 2021. GJIL accepts submissions of manuscripts for publication

Candidates for U.S. Trade Rep. in a Biden Administration

Veteran trade reporter Doug Palmer of Politico has a piece (subscriber only) in which he discusses possible U.S. Trade Representatives in a Biden administration. Here are the names he mentions, broken into two categories set out in the article: Favored by progressives: Thea Lee (president of the Economic Policy

4th SIEL Conversation International Dispute Settlement in the Pandemic

The SIEL sends along the following: 4th SIEL Conversation International Dispute Settlement in the Pandemic In 2020, international dispute settlement has adapted to travel restrictions, lockdowns and remote work – conditions which may last through 2021 or longer. ICSID, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the WTO and other arbitral institutions have

The WTO Dispute Process In the Pandemic and Beyond

This is from a statement by a number of WTO Members at the September 28 DSB meeting: As we have seen, the WTO dispute settlement system is not immune to the impacts of COVID-19. It is encouraging that, since July, delegates have been able to resume DSB meetings at the

PhD Scholarship in International Trade Law/International Investment Law/International IP Law

Christian Riffel of the University of Canterbury writes to say that he is looking for a PhD student in the areas of international trade law/international investment law/international IP law. The full description of the PhD scholarship is here. The deadline is December 1. New Zealand seems like a

"Who Will Get the Coronavirus Vaccines and When?": Waiving TRIPS Rules To Fight COVID-19

Burcu Kilic of Public Citizen, along with some of her colleagues, had an op-ed this week in The Guardian, in which they argued the following: But who will get the coronavirus vaccines and when? There are two big problems: whether they will be affordable, and whether there will be enough

Questions about the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement and GATT Article XXIV

Last year, the U.S. and Japan signed a trade agreement that lowers tariffs on a small number of goods. Ever since it was signed, people have been wondering how this agreement is consistent with GATT Article XXIV, which in paragraph 8(b) says that "substantially all the trade&

Trade In Last Night's VP Debate

Trade came up a bit in last night's Vice-Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. Here's what they said: Harris: ... The vice-president earlier referred to it as part of what he thinks is an accomplishment. The president’s trade war with China. You lost that