As most of us know, including Kim Jong Un (I hope by now!), Donald Trump is a guy who doesn't like to be threatened.   But big business lobbies such as the US Chamber of Commerce are menacing the Administration with grave consequences if it goes ahead with a

The recent Eiser v. Spain ICSID award is yet another example of a state being condemned to pay a large monetary sum merely because an investor has been economically disadvantaged by a reasonable and necessary regulatory change.  Eiser, which generates renewable energy in Spain, complained, like many other companies (Spain

This is from Inside US Trade: U.S. negotiators are considering a new approach to the controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism featuring an opt-in clause that would allow each of the three NAFTA countries to decide whether to use the provision, sources told Inside U.S. Trade. Does that mean

This is from Inside US Trade: U.S. NAFTA negotiators are expected to push a proposal backed by Florida-based producers that would allow seasonal growers to qualify as the domestic industry in trade remedy cases despite not representing 51 percent of the U.S. industry. According to several sources, the

(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

This is from a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Trump today, directing the U.S. Trade Representative to determine "whether to investigate any of China's laws, policies, practices, or actions that may be unreasonable or discriminatory and that may be harming American intellectual property rights, innovation, or

This morning, in a major address, Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland laid out the government's objectives for the renegotiation of NAFTA.  This is the key passage from her speech: First, we aim to modernize NAFTA. The agreement is 23 years old. The global, North American, and

Apropos of the commencement of NAFTA renegotiation next week, I just posted on SSRN a draft paper arguing that the President lacks independent power to terminate trade agreements.  Here are the title and abstract.  Comments are most welcome. Terminating Trade Agreements: the Presidential Dormant Commerce Clause Versus a Constitutional Gloss