International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Will the NAFTA Chapter 11 Compromise Appeal to Any ISDS Critics?

This is from Janyce McGregor of the CBC: The preliminary trade agreement the U.S. recently reached with Mexico may offer a glimpse of what could happen with NAFTA's Chapter 11. A U.S. official said the two countries wanted ISDS to be "limited" to cases

GATT Article XXIV and the NAFTA Renegotiation

GATT Article XXIV:5 refers to the "formation" of a customs union or a free-trade area: the provisions of this Agreement shall not prevent, as between the territories of contracting parties, the formation of a customs union or of a free-trade area or the adoption of an interim

Where Do Footnotes Belong?

Sometimes I blog about the most important issues of the day. Other times, I look for obscure issues that will be of interest to, at most, 4 or 5 people. This is one of the latter. This is from the interim review section of the Russia - Railway Equipment panel

A NAFTA Chapter 19 Compromise

Canadian negotiators are meeting with U.S. negotiators today, to see if they can build on the U.S. - Mexico deal and finalize a new NAFTA. One key issue will be Chapter 19: The U.S. wants it out, while the Canadians want to keep it. Here's

Today's Trade Commotion

So much happened in the trade policy world today. I'm going to mention four things. These are probably not the most important four, but they are the four that piqued my interest enough to blog about them. 1. In NAFTA, it looks like the sunset clause -- automatic

How Would the Higher than MFN NAFTA Auto Tariffs on New Mexican Production Work?

This is from Bloomberg: While a U.S. proposal to increase tariffs on cars imported from Mexico that don’t meet stricter new content rules was a sticking point as recently as last week, that issue appeared to be resolved by Thursday. The U.S. agreed to keep the 2.

Guest Post: Some Reflections on the WTO Panel ruling in the Plain Packaging Dispute: Pulling the Rug from under your legs and missed opportunities – Part II

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Adarsh Ramanujan In this part, I will cover the point where the Complainants went wrong, regarding Article 16.1. This provision states – “The owner of a registered trademark shall have the exclusive right to prevent all third parties not having the owner’

Guest Post: Some Reflections on the WTO Panel ruling in the Plain Packaging Dispute: Pulling the Rug from under your legs and missed opportunities – Part I

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Adarsh Ramanujan As a practitioner in international trade law, I have always loved the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) Reports (the Appellate Body Reports more than the Panel Reports, to be honest). They are structured and well-written, though unnecessarily lengthy at times.

Guest Post: Why Do We Need Free Trade Agreements?

This is a guest post from Bashar H. Malkawi, Dean and Professor of Law, University of Sharjah In recent years, national movements against globalization and free trade have reached a critical mass and have resulted in the election of new political leaders who want to stop or even reverse globalization

Questions about the U.S.-Mexico Auto Rules of Origin Talks

Brett Fortnam of Inside U.S. Trade reports the following: The U.S. and Mexico have agreed to subject autos that do not meet a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement rule of origin to a 2.5 percent tariff if they are made at an existing manufacturing facility, industry