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The U.S. Challenges the Section 232 Retaliatory Tariffs

I had been wondering if the U.S. would bring WTO complaints against the tariffs applied by various governments in retaliation for the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. USTR has just announced that it will: The United States today launched separate disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against
Simon Lester 16 Jul 2018 1 min read

The Timing of Panel Reports

As I discussed recently, the U.S. has raised the issue of the length of time it has been taking the Appellate Body to circulate its reports. But what about the length of time panels have been taking? DSU Articles 12.8 and 12.9 say this: 8. In order
Simon Lester 09 Jul 2018 3 min read

How Do We Measure Trade-Restrictiveness?

Back in 2000, the Appellate Body said this in Korea - Beef about the "necessary" standard in GATT Article XX(d): 164. In sum, determination of whether a measure, which is not "indispensable", may nevertheless be "necessary" within the contemplation of Article XX(d), involves
Simon Lester 05 Jul 2018 4 min read

Busy Week Coming Up For IEL Conferences in DC

Next week is a busy week for international economic law conferences in DC. On Wednesday, Georgetown's Institute of International Economic Law and the Graduate Institute Center for Trade and Economic Integration will host the G2 Conference on Resolving Disputes in International Economic Law. And then on Thursday, Friday,
Simon Lester 05 Jul 2018 1 min read

New Position: Postdoctoral Fellow for Project on the Belt & Road Initiative

The Singapore Management University (SMU) is seeking a post-doctoral fellow, in a position jointly sponsored by SMU’s School of Law and School of Social Sciences. This position is on an exciting new interdisciplinary research project studying the interplay between infrastructure building and institutional building under China’s Belt
Henry Gao 02 Jul 2018 1 min read

How To Negotiate Lower Tariffs

This is from Axios: Axios has obtained a leaked draft of a Trump administration bill — ordered by the president himself — that would declare America’s abandonment of fundamental World Trade Organization rules. Why it matters: The draft legislation is stunning. The bill essentially provides Trump a license to raise U.
Simon Lester 01 Jul 2018 1 min read

Is Section 232 Unconstitutional?

This is from a recently filed compaint at the U.S. Court of International Trade: Plaintiffs American Institute for International Steel, Inc. (“AIIS”), Sim-Tex LP (“Sim-Tex”), and Kurt Orban Partners, LLC (“Orban”), by and through their attorneys, hereby submit their complaint in this action seeking a declaratory judgment
Simon Lester 27 Jun 2018 1 min read

The Timing of Appellate Body Report Circulation

At the last DSB meeting, the U.S. offered a detailed criticism of the Appellate Body's recent practice of taking longer than 90 days to circulate its reports. It's too long to quote the whole thing, but here is a part of it: 5. STATEMENT BY
Simon Lester 27 Jun 2018 3 min read

The Second Canada Agreement on Internal Trade Appellate Report

A couple years ago, I blogged about the first appellate decision under Canada's Agreement on Internal Trade, which was on dairy products. The second decision has just been circulated, this time on beer. (The Canadian Free Trade Agreement recently replaced the AIT, so aside from any ongoing AIT
Simon Lester 22 Jun 2018 2 min read

Non-Violation Claims in the Steel/Aluminum WTO Complaints

Here are all six WTO consultations requests filed so far against the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products: U.S. - Measures on Steel and Aluminium (DS552) June 12, 2018 Norway U.S. - Measures on Steel and Aluminium (DS551) June 5, 2018 Mexico U.S. - Measures on
Simon Lester 20 Jun 2018 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Featured

Does The EU Need Its Own Section 301 To Counter China's Distortions?

Recently, economists Sander Tordoir and Brad Setser suggested that the EU may need its own version of Section 301 in order to "confront China’s systemic distortions beyond piecemeal trade defence."
17 Jun 2026 7 min read

The Section 301 Forced Labor Import Ban Report

On June 2, 2026, USTR released its report on its Section 301 investigation into acts, policies, and practices of various economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.
04 Jun 2026 11 min read

What To Expect from the USMCA Review?

The USMCA review is almost upon us. How exactly things will proceed is a bit unclear, as we've never done this sort of thing before, but July 1 is the six year anniversary of the USMCA's entry into force.
03 Jun 2026 15 min read

China in the World Trading System: A Response to Chad, and Some Comments on Froman-Greer

I'm going to use this post to (1) respond to Chad and (2) comment on an exchange between current U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer and former U.S. Trade Rep. Mike Froman at a recent CFR event.
01 Jun 2026 7 min read

My Response To Simon on China in the World Trading System

Here are two quick reactions to the super important question of what explains why countries did not use WTO dispute settlement to push China to change.
28 May 2026 2 min read

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