International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 183)

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The German Constitutional Complaint on CETA

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, several German NGOs have filed a complaint in German court alleging that CETA is unconstitutional. The full complaint is here. It's in German, but luckily we have a German intern named Max Wirth at Cato right now, so I asked him

Trump Raises the VAT Issue

The Trump campaign released an Economic Plan today. On trade, they raise one issue that has been of concern to respected trade policy people and has been lingering for quite a while: Ending the Unequal Value-Added Tax Treatment Under WTO Rules In addition to the obvious problem of relatively high

The Obama Administration's Attack on Appellate Body Independence Shows The Need for Reforms

By Steve Charnovitz, George Washington University Law School The Obama Administration has not yet apologized for its unilateral action in May 2016 to unseat Appellate Body Member Seung Wha Chang, a distinguished jurist from South Korea. Although this hostile act by the United States has been roundly criticized by other

The UK's Status in the WTO after Brexit

This is the abstract of a new paper by Lorand Bartels: It has become conventional wisdom that once the UK leaves the EU it will have to renegotiate core aspects of its WTO rights and obligations, and in particular its concessions under Article II of the GATT 1994 and Article

A Flurry of New WTO Complaints

After a bit of a lull, three potentially interesting new WTO complaints were filed recently. Here's a brief rundown. First up is a complaint by India focusing on various U.S. state renewable energy programs that have domestic content requirements. Are there any creative new defenses that can

Could Trump Start a Trade War Regardless of Congress? Not So Fast.

In a study released yesterday well-known veteran trade policy analyst Gary Hufbauer sounds the alarm that Donald Trump could use presidential authority under a range of arcane statutory provisions to start a trade war immediately upon taking office-with Congress and the courts helpless to stop him, at least in the

Brexit and Trade Law

Is it fair to say that the UK leadership is having some trouble figuring out what to do with Brexit? Yes, I think that's fair. But at least they are talking to the right people. The UK parliament recently brought in some experts to advise on the technical

More Separate Opinions in Appellate Body Reports

Today's India - Solar Cells Appellate Body report is the second report in a row with a separate opinion (could be a record -- I'll have to check). This separate opinion is a little different, as it does not relate to a particular legal finding, but

Which Trade Restrictions and/or Protectionist Measures Should the WTO Secretariat Be Monitoring?

Via Inside U.S. Trade, Congressman Levin and Senator Wyden are upset with the WTO Secretariat about its recent Report on G20 Trade Measures. Here's an excerpt from the letter they sent to WTO DG Roberto Azevedo: We are deeply disappointed that the Secretariat of the WTO has

Could the Critics of ISDS Save TPP? An opportunity for Hillary Clinton to strike a new national bargain on trade

This is the third in a trilogy of posts on Hillary Clinton and trade policy. In recent days, some of the highest-profile US critics of the TPP have refocused their sights on the provisions of the agreement that call for investor-state arbitration. Elizabeth Warren, for example, singled out the inclusion