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The Origins of the "Cogent Reasons" Approach to the Precedential Value of Appellate Body Reports

The United States has made it clear that it objects to the Appellate Body's view that a panel must follow a prior Appellate Body interpretation unless the panel has “cogent reasons” for departing from that interpretation. One of the longer U.S. explanations of its position is here.
Simon Lester 24 Jun 2019 14 min read

NAFTA vs. USMCA vs. Something Else

Here is a comment from Ambassador Lighthizer in response to a question from Congressman Panetta at last week's House Ways and Means Committee hearing (starts at 3:23:09), on the choice between NAFTA or USMCA: I think we have clearly made an enormous, probably enormous, improvement in
Simon Lester 24 Jun 2019 1 min read

China NME case suspended

Since no one else has raised it yet on this blog, I'll note that the WTO Panel hearing China's case against the EU regarding the use of a non-market economy methodology in anti-dumping cases suspended its work on 14 June (DS516/13). Such suspensions come at
Jesse Kreier 20 Jun 2019 1 min read

Congress Asks Lighthizer About the Sunset Clause

I have been suggesting that Congress should clarify its role in the decision required under the USMCA's sunset clause on whether to extend the agreement, and Congressman Steven Horsford came through for me at yesterday's House Ways and Means Committee hearing (starts at 3:37:50)
Simon Lester 20 Jun 2019 2 min read

USTR Lighthizer Comments on NAFTA/USMCA State-State DS Panel Blocking

This is from an exchange between Senator Carper and U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer at a Senate Finance Committee hearing today (starts at 2:03:07): Senator Carper: “My second question revolves around USMCA dispute settlement. The state-to-state dispute settlement system in the new NAFTA continues to allow for panel
Simon Lester 18 Jun 2019 5 min read

Call for Proposals: International Economic Law And Security Interests Conference

From the Amsterdam Center for International Law and the International Economic Law Interest Group of the European Society of International Law: Call for Proposals – International Economic Law and Security Interests – ACIL-ESIL Amsterdam Conference On 14-15 November 2019, the Amsterdam Center for International Law and the International Economic Law Interest Group
Simon Lester 17 Jun 2019 1 min read

India, safeguards and developing Member status

These days, when issues of justiciability or unilateralism arise, the security exception in Article XXI of GATT 1994 comes immediately to mind. However, these issues can arise in very different contexts, such as safeguards. The Agreement on Safeguards exempts small suppliers of a product from developing Members from safeguard measures,
Jesse Kreier 16 Jun 2019 1 min read

Joe Biden on Tariffs and Trump's Trade Strategy

This is from a speech today by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden: America's farmers have been crushed by his tariff war with China. No one knows that better than Iowa. He thinks he's being tough. Well, it's easy to be tough when someone else
Simon Lester 11 Jun 2019 3 min read

Pete Buttigieg on Tariffs and Trump's Trade Strategy

This is from Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg at a recent town hall event: The San Joaquin Valley helps feed not just America, but the world. The products that are grown here are world-class and yet what we’re finding is because of a short-sighted, I can’t even call
Simon Lester 11 Jun 2019 1 min read

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

This is from the Board of Editors at Trade, Law and Development: The Board of Editors of Trade, Law and Development is pleased to invite original, unpublished manuscripts for publication in the Winter ’19 Issue of the Journal (Vol. 11, No. 2) in the form of Articles, Notes, Comments and
Inu Manak 11 Jun 2019 1 min read

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Can "Geopolitical" Tariffs Be Dealt with through Trade Deals?

Last Friday, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was asked about Trump's initial suggestion of tariffs related to the goal of taking over Greenland
20 Jan 2026 4 min read

Is Foreign Antitrust Enforcement "Discriminatory" and "Anti-American"?

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing in December on "Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses." There was a lot of talk at the hearing about how foreign regulations and regulators "discriminate" against American companies.
05 Jan 2026 5 min read

Pennsylvania Court Finds Mexican Government Guilty of "Discrimination" Due To Its Subsidies

I'm always interested in how courts apply the concept of "discrimination" in the context of international trade, so I've been eagerly awaiting a Pennsylvania court decision in a case against Mexico.
12 Dec 2025 8 min read

Economic Security in Trade Agreements: My Response to Geoff Gertz

Thanks to Geoff for laying out his vision of why economic security should be in trade agreements and how to bring it in. It won't surprise anyone to hear I have some additional comments and questions in response!
04 Dec 2025 10 min read

Guest Post: The Case for Bringing Economic Security Priorities into U.S. Trade Agreements, Part II

This is a guest post from Geoffrey Gertz of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), responding to my post on Economic and National Security Provisions in U.S. Trade Agreements An earlier post made the case for why the United States should bring economic security commitments into trade
01 Dec 2025 3 min read

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