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Will the U.S. - China Trade Deal Violate MFN?

This is from the FT: Washington is pressing Beijing to enter into multiyear contracts to buy US agricultural and energy imports as part of a broader trade deal aimed at reducing the $337bn bilateral trade deficit with China. But the move could mean taking Chinese business away from key US
Simon Lester 27 May 2018 2 min read

The EU General Data Protection Regulation

The GDPR is coming into force soon and I'm trying to sort out the consequences in general and for this blog in particular. With regard to this blog, over 2,000 people have signed up for email notifications, and presumably some of those people are from an EU
Simon Lester 24 May 2018 1 min read

EU – PET (Pakistan): The Appellate Body confirms the validity of the traditional "break the causal link" approach

In a previous post, I indicated that Pakistan lodged an appeal  regarding the "break the causal link" approach adopted by the European Commission in  EU – PET (Pakistan).   In this case, the EU Commission began, as usual, its causation analysis by considering first  that a causal link existed between
Marc Benitah 24 May 2018 1 min read

Is Trump Backing Off China?

This is from an article in the Washington Post: Even before the overnight developments, Trump supporters — and those cheerleading his get-tough approach to trade with China — began reckoning with the likelihood that the president is abandoning the cause. Trump all but confirmed he’s backing away from a showdown with
Simon Lester 23 May 2018 1 min read

The Future of the Airbus-Boeing Dispute

This is from Bloomberg: Airbus SE is ready to tell the World Trade Organization that the threat posed to Boeing Co. by its most ambitious program ever, the double-decker A380 jetliner, is so marginal that any U.S.-led sanctions against the European Union over illegal aid should be minimal.
Simon Lester 23 May 2018 2 min read

Will the U.S. - Gambling Dispute Return?

Many people seemed to enjoy the U.S. - Gambling WTO dispute back in its heyday. Is it possible a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling could revive it? This is from Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision giving states a green light to legalize sports
Simon Lester 18 May 2018 2 min read

G2 Conference on Resolving Disputes in International Economic Law

From the IIEL and the Graduate Institute: July 11, 2018 ◊ Georgetown Law, Washington, DC Download the Summer 2018 G2 Program RSVP Now Join Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law and the Graduate Institute, Geneva’s Center for Trade and Economic Integration for a conference on resolving disputes in international
Simon Lester 18 May 2018 1 min read

DSU Article 11 and the Reasoning of Panels

This is from a separate opinion by an Appellate Body Member in yesterday's EU - PET (Pakistan) report: 5.57. As I see it, the Panel's ruling on whether it needed to continue to make findings with respect to the claims challenging the expired measure at
Simon Lester 17 May 2018 4 min read

Negotiating With Different Tariff Levels

Here is something from a speech by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: We are now constrained by two sides of a WTO pincer. One is the most-favored nation clause, or MFN. This rule says that we must apply the same tariff to every nation with which we do not have a
Simon Lester 14 May 2018 1 min read

VERs, the Safeguards Agreement, and GATT Article XXI

The Section 232 steel/aluminum tariffs are in place for some countries but not all, as exemptions are under negotiation.  A few countries are still talking with the Trump administration about this, but others (Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, and possibly Australia but I'm not sure) have gotten out
Simon Lester 13 May 2018 2 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 5 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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