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Guest Post: RIP NAALC: North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation

This is a guest post from University of Miami law prof Kathleen Claussen: The legal scrub of the labor chapter of the USMCA did not yield many changes since the publication of the draft text two months ago – a few “any”s became “a”s and a few “agree”s
Simon Lester 04 Dec 2018 2 min read

Guest Post: International Commerce and World Wars: Vital Signs of the Current Malaise

This is a guest post by Joao Otavio Benevides Demasi, a Ph.D student at Maastricht University: This brief and incomplete essay is written in the broad intersection of WTO Law, World Diplomacy, Economic Policy, Analysis of the International Relations, Political Sciences, and History of International Economic Relations. For the
Simon Lester 04 Dec 2018 9 min read

The Truce in Buenos Aires: Is This the Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning of the United States – China Trade Wars?

It might be fair to say that the worst did not happen.  This weekend, both leaders of the United States and China agreed to put a “temporary truce” in the ever-escalating bilateral trade conflicts.  In a nut shell, the current level (10%) of the U.S. retaliatory tariffs against Chinese
Sungjoon Cho 02 Dec 2018 1 min read

Guest Post: Critical analysis of the EU DSU Reform Proposal

This is a guest post by Prakhar Bhardwaj, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Trade and Investment Law, New Delhi. All views expressed here are personal. The joint communication from the European Union and 11 other nations to be tabled in the General Council meeting scheduled for 12-13 December 2018 (“EU
Simon Lester 02 Dec 2018 6 min read

Despite Trade Wars, the American Public Largely Supports Free Trade

This is what Scott Lincicome has recently observed in his policy brief (The “Protectionist Moment” That Wasn’t: American Views on Trade and Globalization).  It is a mega-survey of five recent surveys (Pew; WSJ/NBC News; Gallup; Monmouth; the Chicago Council) on the American attitude toward foreign trade and globalization.
Sungjoon Cho 30 Nov 2018 1 min read

The Progressive Parts of the New NAFTA: Footnotes at War with Obligations

Recall that the original Article 23.9 of the new NAFTA said this: Article 23.9 Sex-Based Discrimination in the Workplace The Parties recognize the goal of eliminating sex-based discrimination in employment and occupation, and support the goal of promoting equality of women in the workplace. Accordingly, each Party shall
Simon Lester 30 Nov 2018 2 min read

The Difficult Task of Getting the New NAFTA Through Congress

The new NAFTA -- AKA, the USMCA here in the U.S., but different acronyms in Canada and Mexico -- has now been signed. With apologies to the hard-working negotiators, that was the easy part. Now the Trump administration has to get Congress to sign off. Ambassador Lighthizer sounds confident:
Simon Lester 30 Nov 2018 2 min read

Guest Post: What’s our goal for Buenos Aires: Help the US or hurt China?

This is a guest post from law professor David Trubek: With a meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi at the G-20 in Buenos Aires about to occur, many hope for a truce in the trade war and a deal that will benefit both countries. But that will not happen if
Simon Lester 29 Nov 2018 3 min read

Guest Post: Brexit. Maybe not such bad news for intra-EU investment awards after Achmea?

This is a guest post from Szilárd Gáspár Szilágyi, Postdoctoral Fellow, PluriCourts, University of Oslo On 29 March 2019, 11 pm, the UK will officially leave the European Union, unless by some miracle it decides to withdraw its notification to exit the Union. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the outcome of
Simon Lester 28 Nov 2018 5 min read

Geoeconomics: The Variable Relationship Between Economics and Security

This is more from Anthea Roberts, Henrique Choer Moraes, Victor Ferguson on geoeconomics at the Lawfare blog: There has been much consternation (particularly in the United States) about China’s use of geoeconomic strategies, meaning the “use of economic instruments to promote and defend national interests, and to produce beneficial
Simon Lester 27 Nov 2018 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Expert commentary on the law, politics and economics of international trade and investment

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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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