International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

If Everything Is Industrial Policy, Is Anything Industrial Policy?

Law professor Ganesh Sitaraman has a piece arguing in favor of an industrial policy for the United States. He laments that "[o]ver time, industrial policy ultimately became the Lord Voldemort of economics, so evil and dangerous that it must not be named," and he wants to make

Joe Biden on NAFTA/China/Trade in General

This is from an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper that aired yesterday: TAPPER: Don't you think that one of the reasons why President Trump has been able to appeal to the blue-collar workers that you talk about is because of his message on trade? And that

Rethinking ISDS: Australia vs. UNCITRAL

Back in May, UNCITRAL published a Note by the Secretariat on "Resources to implement the work programme with respect to investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) reform." I was surprised to read this part: 24. Under the current pattern of meetings, Working Group III meets twice a year for a

Is Lighthizer a Protectionist?

Someone asked him that question at a recent event and here's what he said (starts around 45:30) Q: “Are you a protectionist?” A: “Well, you see, that’s interesting. So, what actually does that mean? That’s why when I started out I sort of said, and

Questions About the MPIA and Article 25 Appeal Arbitration

I have a short Cato paper out today on the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). I am excited about the prospects for the MPIA, but I do have some questions, including the following: What approach will the MPIA take regarding the interpretation of core WTO principles such as the

Unilateralism vs. Multilateralism on Carbon Taxes / Carbon Tariffs

In my view, carbon taxes are the best way to address climate change, and the best approach to carbon taxes is to apply them in a non-discriminatory manner to products from all countries. How exactly do you make them non-discriminatory? Ideally, you would do this on a multilateral basis, with

New Book from David Gantz on the USMCA

An Introduction to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Understanding the New NAFTA (Edward Elgar Publishers, 2020), by David A. Gantz, has been published. The description follows: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a modified and modernized version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will continue to govern most economic relationships

Upcoming SIEL Conversation: African Continental Free Trade Area in an Era of Waning Multilateralism - Of Optimists and Sceptics

From the SIEL: Upcoming SIEL Conversation: African Continental Free Trade Area in an Era of Waning Multilateralism - Of Optimists and Sceptics The aim of SIEL Conversations is to bring together authors and commentators to give talks that are idea-focused so as to foster learning and inspiration, and provoke conversations

Guest Post: TikTok, IEEPA, and CFIUS

This is a guest from Wentong Zheng, a law professor at the University of Florida On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order entitled Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, and Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency With Respect to the Information and Communications Technology and

Guest Post: PPE and the Costs of Section 301 Tariffs

This is a guest post from Ernesto Hernández-López, Professor of Law at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University. He researches international trade and international law. Just as the United States and China agreed to a truce in tariff retaliations with the Phase One Agreement on February 14,