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Simon Lester

Guest Post: Is the Blocking of Appointments to the WTO Appellate Body by the United States Legally Justified?

This is a guest post from law professor Jens Lehne: As readers of this blog are well aware, since 2017 the US has blocked all appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, which will lead to the incapacitation of the Appellate Body in December of this year, when the terms of

Guest Post: Dani Rodrik and the Hawks: A field guide to the China-US Trade War

This is a guest post from law professor David Trubek: The media are full of announcements of a “truce” in the China-US trade war. The deal that is being finalized may halt further escalation for a time, but it does nothing to resolve the deeper issues that lie behind the

Is One Panel Meeting Enough?

This is from last week's India - Export Related Measures panel report: 1.3.2 Single substantive meeting of the Panel with the parties 1.9. On 3 August 2018, the Chairperson of the Panel, on behalf of the Panel, held a meeting with the parties to obtain

Non-Violation Claims Against National Security Measures

This is from the U.S. third party oral statement in the United Arab Emirates – Measures Relating to Trade in Goods and Services, and Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (DS526) dispute: III. Negotiating History Of GATT 1994 Article XXI(b) 12. The negotiating history of these essential security

Guest Post: US Narrative on Trade Unilateralism: Insights from DS543

This is a guest post from Akhil Raina* & Mattijs Kempynck** Introduction Readers of this blog are all too aware of the many ways in which the United States (US) is rocking the multilateral trade boat: the Appellate Body (AB) is in crisis; there’s an ongoing “trade war” with

What Kinds of Measures Should Trade Agreements Target?

A group of scholars (including Rob Howse of this blog) has a new proposal for how to manage U.S.-China trade relations better. I may comment on the broader proposal at some point (and Rob may blog about it himself), but in the meantime, as I sometimes like to

Do the U.S. and EU Have Different Visions for WTO Dispute Settlement and the Appellate Body?

This is from Inside US Trade: The “why question,” according to two sources, is directed at the European Union. The EU has said it does not agree with the U.S. view on the Appellate Body but is willing to work with the U.S. to resolve the issue. The

World Trade and Investment Law Reimagined: A Progressive Agenda for an Inclusive Globalization

This is from Chantal Thomas: This is a late-breaking notice, but for those of you in the DC area, please come to the lunchtime discussion, this coming Monday October 21, of "World Trade and Investment Law Reimagined: A Progressive Agenda for an Inclusive Globalization," just out with Anthem

Guest Post: A consensual “Quick-Fix” for the WTO Appellate Body is possible if there is the will!

This is a guest post from former Appellate Body Member Giorgio Sacerdoti: As we all realize, the WTO is heading towards the practical loss of the Appellate Body by 10 December 2019 due to the US blocking of the launching of the selection process to fill the vacancies. The “concerns”

U.S. Comments on "Precedent," DSU Article 11, and AD Agreement Article 17.6(ii)

In the hope of pushing the substantive discussion related to the Appellate Body crisis forward, here is a brief response to a couple points the U.S. made at the General Council meeting yesterday. First up, the U.S. says the following about the issue of "precedent": On