International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Guest Post: Japan–South Korea Trade Friction

This is a guest post from law professor Bashar H. Malkawi: Japan imposed tighter export control measures on chemicals used by South Korean companies to produce semiconductors and smart phones and TV displays. In addition, Japan removed South Korea from a "white list" of twenty-seven preferential trading partners

USMCA in Last Night's Debate

This is from last night's Democratic debate: WOODRUFF: Let's turn now to an issue that is on the minds of all Americans, and that is the economy. Senator Sanders, today, the House of Representatives voted for a new bipartisan trade agreement among the United States, Canada

The House Passes USMCA by a Wide Margin

In October of 2017, I noted that U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer said he hoped to “get back to the days where there was a substantial majority of people in both parties that voted for these trade agreements,” adding “that is my objective right now. I want to have

The U.S. Appeal in DS436

In the last post, I talked about what might happen as a result of the U.S. appeal "into the void" of the Article 21.5 panel report in DS436. Let me now add to the confusion. The full text of the U.S. appeal, as posted in

The Future of U.S. Participation in WTO Disputes

This is from the U.S. statement at today's DSB meeting: As discussions among Members continue, the dispute settlement system continues to function. The central objective of that system remains unchanged: to assist the parties in the resolution of a dispute. As before, Members have many methods to

USMCA Implementing Legislation Provisions on the Sunset Clause

This is from the relevant section of the USMCA implementing legislation submitted to the House on Friday: Subtitle B—Joint Reviews Regarding Extension of USMCA SEC. 611. PARTICIPATION IN JOINT REVIEWS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO REGARDING EXTENSION OF THE TERM OF THE USMCA AND OTHER ACTION REGARDING THE USMCA. (a)

Unilateral Enforcement in the US-China "Phase One" Trade Agreement

This is from USTR's fact sheet on the U.S. - China "phase one" trade agreement announced on Friday: Dispute Resolution: The Dispute Resolution chapter sets forth an arrangement to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement and to allow the parties to resolve disputes in

Congressional / Executive Power over Trade and the USMCA Sunset Clause

This is from Jennifer Hillman: Before it is too late, Congress should insist on including a number of items in the implementing legislation or on essential changes to the May 30, 2019, draft Statement of Administrative Action (SAA). Indeed, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s transmittal letter for the

Guest Post on the Appellate Body

This is a guest post from law professor Wolfgang Weiss The Appellate Body is dead - long live the WTO! What will happen with the enforcement of WTO law after the Appellate Body's ability to work has ceased - hopefully not permanently -? The end of the Appellate

The NAFTA/USMCA Panel Blocking Issue Looks Like It Has Been Fixed (Probably)

This blog post was written jointly by Simon Lester and Inu Manak Here is the relevant text of the Protocol of Amendment to the USMCA (released earlier today) related to panel rosters and composition: C. In Article 31.8 (Roster and Qualifications of Panelists), replace the text of paragraph 1