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Some Questions About "Gap-Filling"

In its statement at the November 21 DSB meeting, the U.S. responds as follows to China's argument that it should be able to "include persons other than government officials" in consultations under the DSU: 24. RIGHT OF A MEMBER TO DECIDE THE COMPOSITION OF ITS
Simon Lester 25 Nov 2018 2 min read

Guest Post: The U.S. and China Rivalry: Geo-Political Context of Free Trade Agreements

This is a guest post from Bashar H. Malkawi (Dean and Professor of Law, University of Sharjah) International trade constitutes a vital lynchpin of the global governance architecture with a staggering $20 Trillion of annual trade. The global trade order consists of trade policies and systems – in particular free trade
Simon Lester 21 Nov 2018 4 min read

The Geoeconomic World Order

Here is the opening of a new blog post from Anthea Roberts, Henrique Choer Moraes, and Victor Ferguson over on Lawfare: We appear to be entering into a new geoeconomic world order, characterized by great power rivalry between the United States and China and the clear use of economic tools
Simon Lester 19 Nov 2018 1 min read

GATT Article XX and non-GATT WTO Agreements

Last week's Thailand - Cigarettes (Philippines), Article 21.5 panel report considered the issue of whether GATT Article XX can provide a defense to claims under the Customs Valuation Agreement: 7.732. Thailand argues that, insofar as the Charges are inconsistent with the provisions of the CVA, such
Simon Lester 19 Nov 2018 7 min read

More WTO Complaints Against China, Including an "Adverse Effects" Nullification or Impairment Claim

Along with Jim Bacchus and Huan Zhu, I have a new Cato paper out today on using the WTO to make China more market-oriented. Some of the main points are: -- China's economic ambition is good. The world is better off with a wealthier China. -- However, China
Simon Lester 15 Nov 2018 7 min read

More on How to Determine Whether a Measure is a Safeguard Measure

In the India - Iron and Steel Products panel report circulated last Wednesday, the panel explained that it would consider the question of whether the measure at issue is a safeguard measure: 7.30. In this dispute, most of the claims have been raised by Japan under Article XIX of
Simon Lester 11 Nov 2018 3 min read

Investment Arbitration Workshop in Oslo

The folks at Pluricourts asked me to post the following: Call for papers: The ISDS Academic Forum, together with PluriCourts Centre for Excellence (LEGINVEST) and Forum for Law & Social Science at the University of Oslo, will host a workshop on reforming international investment arbitration in Oslo 1-2 February 2019.
Simon Lester 11 Nov 2018 1 min read

UNCITRAL and ISDS Reforms: Moving to Reform Options … the Politics

First published on EJIL: Talk! In the last blog, I provided an update on the UNCITRAL process, including the consensus decision from Vienna last week to move forward to consider possible reforms of investor-state arbitration. This decision is very significant. But to get a sense of how this decision was
Anthea Roberts 08 Nov 2018 7 min read

UNCITRAL and ISDS Reforms: Moving to Reform Options … the Process

First published on EJIL Talk! Last week has been described as a watershed moment for ISDS reform. During a meeting in Vienna, states decided by consensus on the desirability of developing reforms in UNCITRAL with respect to investor-state arbitration. States now have an opportunity to make proposals for a work
Anthea Roberts 07 Nov 2018 5 min read

A Watershed Moment for ISDS Reform

Last week marked a watershed moment for the movement to reform investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Meeting in Vienna, Delegations to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III (WGIII) agreed to work multilaterally to reform the resolution of investment disputes. Delegations agreed to focus on responding
Julian Arato 04 Nov 2018 4 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Featured

Comparing the Enforcement Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

Building on the comparison of trade agreement provisions in my last post, let's take a look at the "enforcement" provisions of the six agreements for which the legal texts have been published.
11 Feb 2026 3 min read

Comparing the Economic and National Security Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

By my count, we now have the legal texts of five Trump administration trade agreements. Will there be enforcement actions under these agreements?
09 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.
29 Jan 2026 6 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
23 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
20 Jan 2026 4 min read

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