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Simon Lester

5th SIEL Conversation - The Impact of Covid-19 on the Belt and Road Initiative

From the SIEL: 5th SIEL Conversation -The Impact of Covid-19 on the Belt and Road Initiative Moderator: Suresh Nanwani, Professor in Practice, Durham University, School of Government and International Affairs Speakers: Date: The event is scheduled for Thursday, 19 November 2020 at the following times, and more information can be

U.S. Trade Policy After Trump: Some Preliminary Thoughts

The past few days have been quite an experience. I hope everyone was able to get a good night's sleep and is on the way to recovery! The election of Joe Biden as president has implications beyond trade policy, but this blog is about trade, so I'

Making Appellate Review Optional

My last post was about how WTO appellate review could be made optional as a temporary solution in order to unblock Appellate Body appointments (i.e., to convince the U.S. to go along with appointing new AB Members). Here's a drafting suggestion for how to put that

A Proposal from Alan Wolff on WTO Dispute Settlement

This is from a recent speech by WTO DDG Alan Wolff: For dispute settlement, agreement will in the end be needed on a single mechanism to which all who seek to litigate would subscribe. Any appellate stage must be accountable to the WTO Members as a whole. There are interim

Webinar: The Roadmap to the ASEAN-EU FTA in the Post-Pandemic Era

Webinar: The Roadmap to the ASEAN-EU FTA in the Post-Pandemic Era Singapore Management University School of Law; 3-4 December 2020 The ASEAN-EU relations represent the world’s most important interregional framework. Rising populist protectionism, stalled WTO negotiations and the COVID-19 pandemic have posed challenges to trade and investment ties between

Call for Papers: Political Legal Theory of International Courts and Tribunals 2021

From PluriCourts: Call for Papers: Political Legal Theory of International Courts and Tribunals 2021. We invite paper proposals for the PluriCourts Annual Workshop on the Political and Legal Theory of International Courts and Tribunals 2021: “The Input and Output Legitimacy of International Courts” to be held via zoom from Oslo,

IAReporter Seeks New Contributors/Analysts

This is from my friend Luke Peterson: Investment Arbitration Reporter is looking for one or more persons to join our team of freelance contributors. IAReporter offers specialized reporting on developments in the field of international investment law. We read and digest legal pleadings and decisions, and we also engage in

More on a Biden U.S. Trade Representative Search

This is from NY Times trade reporter Ana Swanson: For the U.S. trade representative, progressive politicians and trade experts are pushing candidates including Katherine Tai, the chief trade counsel at the House Ways and Means Committee; Michael Wessel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review

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