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There's a New Party in Town

For those of you despairing about your choices in the U.S. Presidential election, you are in luck, there's now a credible third party option: The Libertarians. OK, you can stop laughing now, because this time they have a former two term governor as the Presidential nominee (Gary
Simon Lester 30 May 2016 1 min read

Why Prof. Chang II: A Few More Pieces of the Puzzle

While I continued digging for more clues to the Appellate Body Reappointment saga, I found a few more interesting bits: 1. When the blockage was first announced, the US cited only three cases, i.e, DS 437, DS 449 & DS 453. However, at the May 23 DSB meeting, the
Henry Gao 28 May 2016 2 min read

The U.S. Justification for its Appellate Body Reappointment Actions

The U.S. actions at the WTO in relation to the reappointment of Seung Wha Chang, discussed in various recent posts (and comments) on this blog, have been heavily criticized by everyone I've talked to about the issue. However, I have heard sympathy for the substance of some
Simon Lester 27 May 2016 4 min read

Why Prof. Chang?

As the Appellate Body reappointment controversy continues to brew, the US has been flooded with criticisms not only from WTO Members, but also from the Appellate Body Members and academics around the world. In its statement at the May 23 DSB Meeting, the US defended its position by stating that
Henry Gao 27 May 2016 3 min read

Reforming Appellate Body Appointments

Over at EJIL:Talk!, Arman Sarvarian and Fontanelli Filippo respond to the Appellate Body reappointment controversy with some reform suggestions: A Single-Term System? The chair of the DSB noted that further consultations were necessary to exit the deadlock. Recourse to diplomacy reveals the structural limits of the applicable procedural rules;
Simon Lester 27 May 2016 1 min read

THE MYTH OF AN APPELLATE BODY THAT NEVER “RESTRICTS THE RIGHTS OR EXPANDS THE OBLIGATIONS OF WTO MEMBERS”

As we now know, the United States has informed the chairman of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body that it cannot support the reappointment of South Korean national Seung Wha Chang to the Appellate Body. The United States justifies its position by the fact that it “ will not support any individual
Marc Benitah 25 May 2016 3 min read

The Appellate Body Reappointment at the DSB

In the last post, I said I would report the details of the DSB discussion of the Appellate Body reappointment controversy when they are available. Well, Inside US Trade has them here. They probably don't want me reposting the whole article, but here's a snippet: The
Simon Lester 23 May 2016 1 min read

Greg Shaffer on the Appellate Body Reappointment Controversy

Here is what Greg wrote about the Appellate Body reappointment controversy, in the Huffington Post: Following the Berlin Wall’s fall, the United States drove the creation of the World Trade Organization and its tribunal, the Appellate Body. The tribunal rose quickly to prominence for its clarification of WTO rules
Simon Lester 23 May 2016 3 min read

The ITC's TPP Report

The U.S. International Trade Commission issued its report on the TPP last week. This is from the ITC press release: The Commission used a dynamic computable general equilibrium model to determine the impact of TPP relative to a baseline projection that does not include TPP.  The model estimated that
Simon Lester 22 May 2016 2 min read

Donald Trump on MFN

Donald Trump has a sophisticated and nuanced take on the MFN principle as applied in trade negotiations.  Ha ha, just kidding. Here's what he said a couple weeks ago: "I want one-on-one: If somebody treats us well, we make a trade agreement, and I'll have
Simon Lester 22 May 2016 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Featured

Comparing the Enforcement Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

Building on the comparison of trade agreement provisions in my last post, let's take a look at the "enforcement" provisions of the six agreements for which the legal texts have been published.
11 Feb 2026 3 min read

Comparing the Economic and National Security Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

By my count, we now have the legal texts of five Trump administration trade agreements. Will there be enforcement actions under these agreements?
09 Feb 2026 5 min read

Jamieson Greer on the 30 Year Aberration in U.S. Trade Policy

When he was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer talked a bit about U.S. trade policy history and described a recent period during which, in his view, U.S. trade policy shifted away from tariffs/protectionism and towards free trade.
29 Jan 2026 6 min read

Is this the end of MFN as we know it? The EU submission on WTO reform and the meaning of development

With the release of the EU submission on WTO reform, it has become clear that the MFN principle’s central role within the WTO architecture is under challenge. As a keystone, it risks the entire bridge falling. Even if the foundations are retained but deemed outdated or unusable, and a
23 Jan 2026 3 min read

Can "Geopolitical" Tariffs Be Dealt With through Trade Deals?

Last Friday, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was asked about Trump's initial suggestion of tariffs related to the goal of taking over Greenland
20 Jan 2026 4 min read

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