Jenny Leonard of Inside US Trade reports the following statements by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer after the NAFTA press conference earlier this week: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday said he was seeking to shake up the congressional voting landscape for free trade deals, suggesting a

From the SIEL and Hart Publishing: Submissions for the new SIEL/Hart Prize in International Economic Law are now open! ABOUT THE PRIZE The SIEL/Hart Prize is a brand new prize awarded every two years to an outstanding unpublished manuscript by an early career scholar in the field of

First published on Just Security. The United States disagrees with many countries, including key allies, on important questions of international law, including the geographical scope of armed conflict, the extraterritorial application of human rights, and the existence and scope of a right to preemptive self-defense. Underlying these particular disagreements

This is from the Indonesia - Chicken WTO panel report, circulated yesterday: Fn. 318. We note that Indonesia's defence under Article XX(b) raises a food safety issue. We observe that the SPS Agreement, according to its Preamble, "elaborates rules for the application of the provisions of the

Here are two posts on the original GATT negotiations, from Roy Santana of the WTO: CLASH OF THE GATT NEGOTIATORS September 1947: Following months of good progress in Geneva, GATT negotiators had entered a delicate phase where the most difficult issues had to be tackled, chief amongst which was the

After NAFTA Round 4 wrapped up today, there were some strong words at the press conference. I can't find the full transcript of her remarks, but here is a news report on what Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland had to say: Freeland said the "unconventional" demands

Here's a U.S. proposal, in the NAFTA renegotiation, to open Canada's dairy market a bit: The proposal came as the U.S. made its first significant move on dairy, a traditional sticking point with Canada. Several insiders said Friday the U.S. has asked Canada

There has been much handwringing in recent days about the imminent likelihood that President Trump will "decertify" the Iran deal.  But little of the media coverage has focused on the exact meaning and legal and political consequences of "decertification."  Often "decertification" is associated with

Politico has this report today: U.S. ISDS PROPOSAL WOULD CUT TWO KEY PROTECTIONS: Expect USTR to put at least one of those “poison pills” forward at talks this week. The final U.S. proposal on investor-state dispute settlement comes not only with an “opt-in” provisions that effectively