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Simon Lester

Simon Lester

Co-founder of WorldTradeLaw.net and China Trade Monitor. Non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute.

http://simonlester.com

What Exactly Did Biden Say About ISDS?

A couple days ago, I posted about Biden's responses to trade questions from the United Steelworkers. Here's what he said about ISDS: I don't believe that corporations should get special tribunals that are not available to other organizations. I oppose the ability of private

Biden Responds to Steelworkers on Trade

Presidential candidate Joe Biden has responded to questions from the United Steelworkers here. There were some interesting questions and answers on trade. The whole exchange is below, but here are a few highlights: -- It seems pretty clear that ISDS will not be in future Biden trade agreements. -- He finessed the

What Did Bill Clinton Say about China's WTO Entry?

I often hear that Bill Clinton make a mistake by believing and/or promising that China would liberalize economically and politically when it joined the WTO. And I see him quoted selectively to make that point. I recently came across one of these quotes, and thought it would be worth

Call for papers First Edition Global Jurist Award

FIRST EDITION GLOBAL JURIST AWARD Call for papers under the title: “2030: a new horizon for International Economic Law?” Universidad Externado (Colombia), Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain), Pontificia Universidad Católica (Chile), Pontificia Universidad Católica (Peru), Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina), Universidad Tecnológica (El Salvador), as well as the Latin American Network

The Future of ISDS under the Trump Administration

How will the Trump administration approach ISDS in the coming months (or years)? This is an exchange from today's Senate Finance Committee hearing to confirm Michael Nemelka as Deputy USTR for Investment, Services, Labor, Environment, Africa, China, and the Western Hemisphere (starts at 1:21:15): Grassley: If

SIEL Webinars

From the SIEL: The Society of International Economic Law is delighted to announce the launching of SIEL Conversations, a monthly webinar on international economic law. 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

A Possible Fourth MPIA Case

I previously noted the three WTO disputes where agreed procedures between the parties for using the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) have been circulated. There is now a fourth dispute, Colombia - AD Duties on French Fries (DS591). The agreed procedures in the case are here. The panel was

Additions to the MPIA

There have been two recent additions to the MPIA: One new party and one new arbitrator nomination. The new party is Benin, which notified its decision to join on June 22. The new arbitrator nomination is the great Thomas Cottier. The World Trade Institute had this announcement: Switzerland has nominated

Guest Post: Transnational subsidies II (continued) – WTO concerns over the EU’s Foreign Subsidies White Paper

This is a guest post is from Victor Crochet and Marcus Gustafsson, trade lawyers with Van Bael & Bellis Cross-border subsidies have become a growing source of concern as states increasingly ‘globalize’ the use of subsidies for their commercial or wider strategic advantage. On 17 June 2020, the European

The USMCA Chapter 31 Dispute Settlement Roster Is Set

The roster of panelists for USMCA Chapter 31 state-state dispute settlement is out (the list of rapid response labor panelists for the Canada-Mexico mechanism is here, and for the U.S.-Mexico mechanism is here). Recall that the absence of a roster under NAFTA appears to have been