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What Are the Critics of China's WTO Entry Objecting To?

In recent years, there have been some prominent voices out there criticizing the decision to allow China to join the WTO. One thing I have trouble understanding is what the critics see as the counterfactual: How exactly do they think the United States (or the world) would be better off
Simon Lester 15 Jul 2025 3 min read

Guest Post: From Plenty to Protectionism: The Zero-Sum Logic Revisited

This is a guest post from João Felipe Achcar de Azambuja* and Paul Schiering** “I am a tariff man standing on a tariff platform.”[1] Being a tariff man was an important building block both for William McKinley and for Donald Trump to be elected U.S. President. But why
Simon Lester 10 Jul 2025 15 min read

How Many Trade Deals Do We Have So Far?

Back in April, with the 90 day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs scheduled to end at midnight on July 8, a Trump administration official suggested they could sign "90 deals in 90 days." At that time, I noted here on the blog that I had said
Simon Lester 09 Jul 2025 1 min read

Is Industrial Policy Undermining the Fight against Climate Change?

Todd Tucker has a new JIEL piece called "Towards a post-Trump order for the climate crisis." It has been a couple years since I've engaged with something from Todd, so I'm going to use this piece to try to revive our decades-long debates. Fingers
Simon Lester 06 Jul 2025 7 min read

What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Trade Deal

There is widespread speculation about trade agreements that may be coming in the next 10 days (or soon after), including their form and what they might contain.  What should we expect? The most reliable rumors are that some agreements have been drafted and are likely to be announced by the
Kathleen Claussen 30 Jun 2025 5 min read

The UK Joins the MPIA

The UK has just set out its new trade strategy, and one point in there is that it will be joining the MPIA: The WTO has an almost unique function to resolve trade disputes. That trade dispute system is busier than ever but, since 2019, it has lacked an appellate
Simon Lester 26 Jun 2025 2 min read

David Gantz: The Path Forward for North American Trade and Economic Integration

This is a post from David Gantz, Will Clayton Fellow, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Mexico Center; Samuel M. Fegtly Professor Emeritus, College of Law, the University of Arizona.  Part I: Introduction This report addresses the challenges to the continued viability of the United States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), and more
Simon Lester 25 Jun 2025 26 min read

Trade Deficits, Savings/Consumption, Currencies and the Causes of U.S. Budget Deficits

I've seen a number of recent statements by people suggesting that U.S. fiscal deficits are being driven by (1) the dollar as the reserve currency and (2) relatively low foreign consumption/high foreign savings. These factors, it is suggested, lead to lower interest rates for borrowing in
Simon Lester 22 Jun 2025 7 min read

Questions and Responses in DS623 on Non-Market Policies and the Relationship of GATT Exceptions to the SCM Agreement

The U.S. has posted its responses to the panel's questions in U.S. - IRA (China) (DS623). I want to highlight two specific questions/responses: One relates to the meaning of "non-market" policies and practices, and the other relates to the availability of GATT exceptions
Simon Lester 13 Jun 2025 9 min read

JIEL Junior Faculty Forum 2025 Call for Papers

The Journal of International Economic Law is delighted to announce the fifth annual JIEL Junior Faculty Forum. The JIEL JFF brings together early career scholars (including junior faculty, visiting assistant professors, PhD candidates, post-doctoral fellows, etc.) working in the field of international economic law. The purpose is to allow scholars
Kathleen Claussen 06 Jun 2025 2 min read

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Featured

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

My Questions for Chad on China in the World Trading System

At the Peterson Institute event launching the "How To Win a Trade War" book, Chad said some things about trade relations with China that I found interesting.
26 May 2026 4 min read

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