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The U.S.-Mexico-Canada (AKA the New NAFTA) Trade Deal: Non-Violation Claims

As part of a quest to find the most obscure aspect of the new NAFTA, I point you to the scope of non-violation claims. This is from the new NAFTA: Article 31.2: Scope 1. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the dispute settlement provisions of this Chapter shall
Simon Lester 02 Oct 2018 2 min read

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada (AKA the New NAFTA) Trade Deal: Limits on FTAs with NMEs

Article 32.10 of the new NAFTA says: Article 32.10: Non-Market Country FTA 1. At least 3 months prior to commencing negotiations, a Party shall inform the other Parties of its intention to commence free trade agreement negotiations with a non-market country. For purposes of this Article,
Simon Lester 02 Oct 2018 2 min read

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada (AKA the New NAFTA) Trade Deal: State-State Dispute Settlement

Inu and I had a recent article in which we explained how NAFTA Chapter 20 state-state dispute settlement hasn't been working because of problems with appointing panelists (in large part because the roster of panelists was not filled). It doesn't look like this article made
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2018 1 min read

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada (AKA the New NAFTA) Trade Deal: Investment Protection/ISDS

As has been expected, in the new NAFTA deal, the Trump administration has significantly scaled back the investment protection/ISDS provisions, which are now found in Chapter 14. One way to think about what happened is that there is no more general recourse to ISDS, but there are three ways
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2018 2 min read

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada (AKA the New NAFTA) Trade Deal: The Sunset Clause

The text of what is being called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been released. It would be much easier to call this agreement NAFTA, rather than some unwieldy new name that someone thought was preferable for public relations purposes. We'll see what practice develops here.
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2018 3 min read

Is This The New US Approach to FTAs?

From the White House: Joint Statement of the United States and Japan 1.  On the occasion of our Summit Meeting in New York on September 26, 2018, we, President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, affirmed the importance of a strong, stable, and mutually beneficial trade and economic
Simon Lester 26 Sep 2018 2 min read

Appointment of Panelists under the Modernised EU-Mexico Trade Agreement

This is from the dispute settlement chapter of the Modernisation of the Trade part of the EU-Mexico Global Agreement: Article X.5 Composition of a Panel 1. A panel shall be composed of three panellists.     2. Within [X] days from the date of receipt of the written request for
Simon Lester 26 Sep 2018 3 min read

What Is the Value of the Section 232 Auto Tariff Carveout?

In a side letter to the U.S.-Mexico agreement that is part of the NAFTA renegotiation, it appears that the U.S. has agreed that if it imposes tariffs on auto imports pursuant to Section 232, a certain amount of Mexican auto imports will be exempt. (You could also
Simon Lester 21 Sep 2018 2 min read

Guest Post: Public Order Clause, Systemic Assault on the Rule of Law and Investment Arbitration: Revenge of the Sith

This is a guest post from Marcin Menkes, Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Law at Warsaw School of Economics: “So this is how liberty dies ... with thunderous applause.” ―Padmé Amidala A long time ago, in a hemisphere far, far away … War! The multilateral order and the democratic Rule
Simon Lester 16 Sep 2018 13 min read

Could There Be a U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement AND a NAFTA?

Mexican trade negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos tweeted this: #Mexico stated from the beginning of the negotiation that the ideal scenario is for #NAFTA to remain trilateral. We hope the US and Canada will conclude their bilateral #negotiation shortly. If that is not possible we are ready to advance bilaterally with
Simon Lester 13 Sep 2018 1 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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