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Enforcing the Market Opening Commitments in the Trump Trade Deals

In an interview with Bloomberg last week, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was asked about enforcement of all the recently negotiated trade deals: Question: On implementing those deals ... you mentioned that you would be looking and monitoring them for any violations. How will this administration judge what is a
Simon Lester 03 Aug 2025 2 min read

Will Trump's Trade Deals Increase U.S. Exports?

One of the criticisms of the Biden administration on trade policy was that it didn't put enough effort into improving access for U.S. producers to foreign markets. The Trump administration, by contrast, has made this one of its priorities. But will its approach to market access work?
Simon Lester 31 Jul 2025 4 min read

To What Extent Are the Trade Negotiations about Security?

On the face of things, the trade negotiations triggered by President Trump's unilateral actions are focused on various trade-related objectives. Trump thinks higher U.S. tariffs are a good way to do some mix of the following: reshore domestic manufacturing, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, and
Simon Lester 27 Jul 2025 3 min read

Jamieson Greer on the Rise of Manufacturing Competition

At the Reindustrialize Summit held in Detroit last week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the following about the decline of American industrial power: At the heyday of American industrialization, our country enjoyed a robust middle class, an unassailable national defense, and an innovation economy unprecedented in human history.
Simon Lester 23 Jul 2025 4 min read

Guest Post: WTO Law Compatibility of the UK’s New Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme

This is a guest post from from University of Swansea law professor Arwel Davies On July 15th, UK media outlets reported a new government scheme to support the purchase of EVs with a price of under £37,000. The two grant levels are £3,750 or £1,500 depending on
Simon Lester 21 Jul 2025 16 min read

Can the Trump Administration's Price Control Plan Bring U.S. Pharmaceutical Prices Down?

In recent months, the Trump administration has undertaken some efforts to lower U.S. drug prices. I'm skeptical that their approach will work, but nevertheless it involves a range of issues that interact in interesting ways. With the caveat that I'm not really an expert on
Simon Lester 20 Jul 2025 4 min read

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
Simon Lester 06 Jul 2025 7 min read

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Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs

Last month, USTR made a determination in 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."
10 Jul 2026 5 min read

How Should the EU Get Tough with China? Unilateral Action vs. WTO Complaints

I've seen several recent calls for the EU to get tougher in its economic relations with China, along with arguments that it has been too slow to act against the Chinese economic threat.
06 Jul 2026 4 min read

Trump Administration Decides Not To Extend USMCA for Another Term: What Does That Mean Exactly?

Today, as part of the first joint review of the USMCA, the three governments held a virtual meeting.
01 Jul 2026 4 min read

Competing Views of Sovereignty: The Haves vs. The Have Nots in AI (and Steel)

It's interesting to watch how political leaders craft narratives around economic competition that reflect their own country's strengths and weaknesses.
29 Jun 2026 4 min read

A law of many meanings: Exchange Actions under the GATT and IMF

Earlier this week, Simon Lester posted about the EU’s concerns with the undervaluation of the Chinese currency. He situated the recent demands for trade restrictions against a longstanding debate about the function of GATT Article XV:4.
25 Jun 2026 8 min read

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