International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Katherine Tai on "The Real Purpose of Trade Policy"

As we close in on the end of the Biden administration, I may have fewer opportunities to react to Katherine Tai's thoughts on trade policy. My Katherine Tai tag now has over 60 entries. I've enjoyed writing them, and I hope she has enjoyed -- or

Call for Papers: Journal of World Investment & Trade

This is a call for papers from early career scholars in international trade and investment law from the Journal of World Investment & Trade: Submit your abstract, and if selected, you will be invited to participate in an exclusive workshop where you will receive invaluable advice and guidance from leading

Call for Papers: Shaping Appropriate ADR in International Law

The International Law Association is hosting a conference on Shaping Appropriate ADR in International Law, on 7 April 2025 in Florence, Italy. The call for papers is here. Here is the conference theme: As 2025 begins, there is no shortage of international law disputes, in areas ranging from geopolitics to

Jake Sullivan's International Economics Legacy

Never having worked in government at a high level (I was a summer intern once a long time ago), I am only vaguely familiar with the idea of bolstering your "legacy" at the end of your time in office. But people who seem to know what they are

Is NAFTA a Good Explanation for Workers Leaving the Democratic Party? The Case of Ohio

The Washington Post recently published an op-ed about Sherrod Brown, a long-time Democratic Senator (and previously a Representative) from Ohio who lost his seat in the November election, highlighting his view that the passage of NAFTA led to "workers" leaving the Democratic party: ... Brown says the political shift

Appeal/Review Proposals under Consideration in the WTO Dispute Settlement Reform Process

In a recent post on appeal/review issues being discussed as part of the WTO dispute settlement reform process, I quoted something that referenced "an updated draft of the document known as the Appeal/Review Tables, which will reflect the progress made in the discussions since the summer break

Discussing Tariffs with Michael Pettis

Finance professor Michael Pettis had a recent FT piece on tariffs. His piece builds on one of his Bluesky threads, which I discussed with him there. In this post, I'm going to react to some of the things he said in both the FT piece and the Bluesky

The U.S. Proposal on How to Handle Disputes on Essential Security Measures

At a DSB meeting in January 2023, the U.S. made clear its position that "it was a mistake to begin adjudicating national security at the WTO," and said: "we believe Members need to clarify and adopt a shared understanding of the essential security exception, and we

More Discussions of Appeal/Review in the DS Reform Process

In July, I mentioned that the the WTO Dispute Settlement Reform Process was underway, with one of the key topics being a fix for the Appellate Body crisis. People can follow the discussions in limited detail as WTO news summaries are released, or in somewhat greater detail a few weeks

Guest Post: Are the USMCA’s rules of origin for automobiles enough to stop Chinese sourced parts coming into the US/Canada?

This is a guest post by Karen Soriano, a recent Masters graduate in international economic policy from the Norman Paterson School Of International Affairs With President-elect Donald Trump’s frequent social media pronouncements on trade, it would be a futile practice to fact-check every claim made. However, recent comments by