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Unilateral Enforcement in the US-China "Phase One" Trade Agreement

This is from USTR's fact sheet on the U.S. - China "phase one" trade agreement announced on Friday: Dispute Resolution: The Dispute Resolution chapter sets forth an arrangement to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement and to allow the parties to resolve disputes in
Simon Lester 14 Dec 2019 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 13 Dec 2019 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 13 Dec 2019 5 min read

The Labor Rights Rationale to Approve the USMCA

The Labor Rights Rationale to Approve the USMCA Steve Charnovitz 13 December 2019 Three days ago, the US, Mexico, and Canada completed talks to update the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that had begun in 2017 and had been touted as having succeeded in 2018.  During
Charnovitz 12 Dec 2019 9 min read

Is the European Union Outsourcing Public International Law to Save the WTO Dispute Settlement System?

Upon the Appellate Body having being paralyzed, the European Commission has promptly moved to secure its trade interests by arming itself with the retaliatory power, also creating the position of “Chief Trade Enforcement Officer.”  The Commission’s proposal is reminiscent of Nicolas Lamp’s earlier post on the threat of
Sungjoon Cho 12 Dec 2019 1 min read

A First Look at the New Labor Provisions in the USMCA Protocol of Amendment

Fourteen months ago, I described on this blog a bit about the labor provisions in the pre-scrubbed USMCA language.  With yesterday’s Protocol of Amendment, we have a lot more text to discuss – including changes that make one wonder whether the old reference to the “May 10[, 2007]” bipartisan compromise
Kathleen Claussen 12 Dec 2019 11 min read

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
Simon Lester 11 Dec 2019 5 min read

The Missed Opportunity to Save WTO Dispute Settlement

The Attack on the Appellate Body - Events of 10 December 2019 Steve Charnovitz Today, the Standing Appellate Body was felled by the attack of the Trump Administration. By making appellate adjudications impossible, the Trump Administration is now empowered to strategically appeal any WTO panel decision against the US knowing
Charnovitz 10 Dec 2019 10 min read

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
Simon Lester 09 Dec 2019 6 min read

The Myth of No WTO Precedent

The Attack on the Appellate Body- Events of 9 December 2019 Steve Charnovitz Today in Geneva, the US ambassador to the WTO, Dennis Shea delivered a Statement to the General Council that was posted on the US Mission portal. His Statement is replete with misstatements. I hope that WTO member
Charnovitz 09 Dec 2019 6 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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The Section 301 Excess Capacity Investigation Needs Less Madness, More Method

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled President Trump’s emergency tariffs under IEEPA  unconstitutional, the administration scrambled to rebuild its tariff wall. While the announcement of Section 122 tariffs immediately following the ruling will provide a temporary patch, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office quickly began to utilize another
24 Apr 2026 6 min read

War Tariffs

This is a co-authored post by Kathleen Claussen and Tim Meyer. Last week, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing new tariffs of 50 percent of the value of any product coming from any country that sells weapons or provides military aid to Iran. Some commentators questioned
14 Apr 2026 5 min read

USMCA Review and Extension Predictions

When the idea of an expiration clause was suggested during the NAFTA renegotiation, I was against it from the start, and Inu and I wrote a pretty critical piece about it at the time. A review is great, we said, let's definitely have reviews, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
08 Apr 2026 5 min read

The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans

This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.
16 Mar 2026 4 min read

The Section 301 Surge Is Upon Us: Investigating Excess Capacity and Production

The first of a large batch of expected Section 301 investigations has arrived, as USTR announced yesterday that it was initiating investigations on acts, policies, and practices of various countries/economies "relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors."
12 Mar 2026 3 min read

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