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Peter Harrell on "Upending World Trade"

Peter Harrell, formerly of the Biden administration and now at Georgetown Law, has a new Foreign Affairs piece called "The Case for Upending World Trade: How Trump’s Vision Echoes America’s Traditional Approach." In the piece, Peter makes several points that I want to respond to.
Simon Lester 03 Feb 2026 4 min read

Jamieson Greer on the 30 Year Aberration in U.S. Trade Policy

When he was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer talked a bit about U.S. trade policy history and described a recent period during which, in his view, U.S. trade policy shifted away from tariffs/protectionism and towards free trade.
Simon Lester 29 Jan 2026 6 min read

Why Haven't the Tariffs Had More Impact on the Economy?

Dan Drezner recently noted the following in relation to why the Trump tariffs haven't had a more negative impact on the U.S. economy: What about the overall effect of Trump’s tariffs on the U.S. economy? As to that question, a separate Ana Swanson story provides
Simon Lester 27 Jan 2026 2 min read

Is this the end of MFN as we know it? The EU submission on WTO reform and the meaning of development

With the release of the EU submission on WTO reform, it has become clear that the MFN principle’s central role within the WTO architecture is under challenge. As a keystone, it risks the entire bridge falling. Even if the foundations are retained but deemed outdated or unusable, and a
Mona Paulsen 23 Jan 2026 3 min read

The EU on Policy Space

In the EU submission on WTO Reform that I mentioned yesterday, there was this suggestion on "policy space": In the context of overall strengthening of rules, there should be openness to examine targeted adjustments for policy space. A balance needs to be found between the effectiveness of the
Simon Lester 23 Jan 2026 3 min read

Asking China To Liberalize More at the WTO

Back in 2018, I wrote a piece with my colleague Huan Zhu arguing that China had become much wealthier since it joined the WTO, and therefore should take on greater liberalization commitments: With greater wealth comes greater responsibility. Even if it continues to maintain its “developing” status, as China’s
Simon Lester 22 Jan 2026 4 min read

Guest Post: President Trump Cannot Legally Impose Tariffs Using Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974

If the Supreme Court strikes down nonreciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Trump Administration reportedly plans to re-impose some of the tariffs by citing authorities in other laws.
Simon Lester 21 Jan 2026 3 min read

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
Simon Lester 20 Jan 2026 4 min read

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

This is from the editors of the Trade, Law and Development journal: The Board of Editors of TL&D is pleased to invite original, unpublished manuscripts for publication in the General Issue of the Journal (Vol. XVII, No. 2) in the form of ‘Articles’, ‘Notes’, ‘Comments’ and ‘Book Reviews’
Simon Lester 18 Jan 2026 1 min read

Katherine Tai on WTO Dispute Settlement Reform

Back in November, former U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai spoke on a panel at Harvard (I just stumbled on the video recently). Towards the end, she responded as follows to a question about the Appellate Body appointments crisis (1:08:32 of the video): On the Appellate Body, ... if
Simon Lester 16 Jan 2026 4 min read

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What Kind of Discrimination Should Section 338 Target?

A couple weeks ago, the U.S. International Trade Commission asked for public comments on implementing Section 338.
25 Sep 2026 5 min read

Jake Sullivan Wants To Build On the Biden Administration's Industrial Policy

In a recent article, Jake Sullivan makes the case for continuing on with the Biden administration's economic policies, arguing for an even broader and more comprehensive industrial policy than what we saw under Biden.
13 Sep 2026 6 min read

How Difficult Will It Be Politically To Remove Trump's Tariffs?

Heather Hurlburt, who was the Chief of Staff for U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai from 2022-2024, recently poured some cold water on the idea that Trump's tariffs might be removed quickly after he is out of office.
12 Aug 2026 3 min read

Why Section 338 Does Not Work in a GATT/WTO World: Lessons from Trade Law History

On July 21, 2026, President Trump exercised his authority under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (hereinafter Section 338) to impose the maximum amount of additional tariffs (fifty per cent) on Canadian cars, alcohol, and dairy, owing to his determination of Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US exports.
23 Jul 2026 10 min read

EU WTO Reform Proposal Seeks To Extend Accession-Based State Enterprise Rules To All Members

In a new WTO reform paper entitled "Further Reflections on Disciplines, Subsidies and Industrial policy," the EU argues for stronger WTO disciplines on the behavior of state enterprises.
17 Jul 2026 5 min read

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