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Simon Lester

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

Guest Post: Transfer of the International Investment Bank from Moscow to Budapest: A Trojan Horse in the Making

This is a guest post from professors Marcin Menkes and Jerzy Menkes: On February 5, 2019, Hungary agreed to the transfer of the International Investment Bank’s seat from Moscow to Budapest. An international financial institution, which despite Russia’s major stake has already been exempted from EU sanctions, enters

"Why did the Appellate Body feel free to disregard the clear text of the agreements?"

The U.S. keeps asking a question along the lines of "why did the Appellate Body feel free to disregard the clear text of the agreements?" Here's an answer provided by Ambassador Shea at today's General Council meeting: ... For nearly a year, in the

The Discrimination Standard under Section 301

This is from the Section 301 report on France’s Digital Services Tax issued by USTR earlier this week: A. France’s Digital Services Tax Discriminates Against U.S. Digital Companies The evidence collected in this investigation, including witness testimony, written comments, news reports, and expert commentary, indicates that the

Guest Post on Carbon Border Adjustment

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Bernard O'Connor: Reinhard Quick has written a blogpost questioning the idea of a border carbon adjustment. He raises some very good points. It goes without saying that a border adjustment for internal direct taxes must be trade neutral and must

Letter from Mr Ujal Singh Bhatia, Mr Shree B.C. Servansing, and Ms Hong Zhao

In the context of the ongoing Appellate Body crisis, here is a letter to the WTO DG sent by Mr Ujal Singh Bhatia, Mr Shree B.C. Servansing, and Ms Hong Zhao: Dear Director-General, Regarding recent media articles, we have deep concerns about the breach of confidentiality and the misrepresentations

Third Party Adjudication vs. Unilateralism

Here's one more post based on the Trade Talks podcast with Stephen Vaughn: Chad P. Bown 16:43 Can I ask a bit more of the details on the enforcement piece? Is what we're thinking about if there is a deal that has some kind of

Interpretation and Judging at the WTO

Here's more from the Trade Talks podcast with Stephen Vaughn: Chad P. Bown 33:26 But can I ask you, then, where is our constructive proposal to have this conversation? So we haven't gotten it from the Europeans or the Chinese or anything yet, but where