International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

Persuasive Value vs. Precedent in Appellate Body Reasoning

At yesterday's DSB meeting, the U.S. had a 26 page statement (pp. 9-35) on "precedential value of panel or Appellate Body reports." You may need to read the whole thing to fully digest their argument, but here are some key portions: 10. The United States

EU Requests Labor Consultations with Korea

From the European Commission: The EU today requested formal consultations with the government of the Republic of Korea regarding the implementation of the sustainable development commitments under the EU-Korea trade agreement. The aim is to open a dedicated channel of communication to find an amicable and mutually satisfactory solution to

New From the WTO: GATT Disputes: 1948-1995

From the WTO: GATT Disputes: 1948-1995 looks into the evolution of dispute settlement under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947, which served as the foundation for the Dispute Settlement Understanding created by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. The two volumes represent the first comprehensive effort to

Petersmann on "How should WTO members respond to the WTO Appellate Body crisis?"

This is a guest post from professor and long-time GATT/WTO Secretariat lawyer Ernst-Ullrich Petersmann : ERNST-ULRICH PETERSMANN * European University Institute, Florence (Italy) 1. The US blocking of the filling of WTO Appellate Body (AB) vacancies, since spring 2017, on grounds not related to the personal qualifications of proposed AB candidates

Three (Or More) Narratives about Globalization's Winners and Losers

Nicolas Lamp has a new paper out called, "How Should We Think about the Winners and Losers from Globalization? Three Narratives and their Implications for the Redesign of International Economic Agreements." This is from the intro: In the wake of Brexit and the widespread public opposition to new

Jennifer Hillman: Three Approaches to Fixing the Appellate Body

Jennifer Hillman has a new IIEL Issues Brief called "Three Approaches to Fixing the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?" Her three approaches are: 1. The Good — A Separate System for Trade Remedies (with two possibilities: "Special Appellate Body for

Yale Journal of International Law Online Symposium on "International Trade in the Trump Era"

The Yale Journal of International Law is hosting an online symposium on "International Trade in the Trump Era," featuring an introduction by Kathleen Claussen (University of Miami School of Law) and David Singh Grewal (Yale Law School) and essays by Rachel Brewster, Tim Meyer, Joel Trachtman, Greg Shaffer,

Book Launch on GATT Disputes

This is a great project from the WTO: The publication GATT Disputes: 1948-1995, published by the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will be launched at the WTO Headquarters at 11:30 on Friday, 14 December 2018. Geneva, WTO Headquarters - Room D 14 DECEMBER 2018 In celebration of

The Sunset Clause and Written Confirmation by the "Head of Government"

Recall that para. 3 of the new NAFTA's sunset clause says: "each Party shall confirm, in writing, through its head of government, if it wishes to extend the term of this Agreement for another 16-year period." Over on Twitter, Joel points to another Congressional/Executive balance

The Sunset Clause and the Congressional/Executive Balance of Power

Recall that the sunset clause in the new NAFTA says, "each Party shall confirm, in writing, through its head of government, if it wishes to extend the term of this Agreement for another 16-year period." While the written confirmation comes from the "head of government," the