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More on those TPP Economic Estimates

A couple days ago, I briefly expressed skepticism about the economic estimates being offered up related to the TPP (see also here). Working independently, but with similar ideological priors, here's my Cato colleague Dan Ikenson offering more detailed thoughts: With apologies to my trade economist friends, anyone who
Simon Lester 17 Feb 2016 1 min read

Dani Rodrik on TPP Economic Estimates

This is from economist, and trade skeptic (to some extent), Dani Rodrik: The bottom line is that neither side’s models generate numbers reliable enough on which a case for or against the TPP can be made. I'm a lot more pro-trade than Dani Rodrik is, but I
Simon Lester 15 Feb 2016 1 min read

Trade Barriers to Facebook

In India: India's telecoms regulator has blocked Facebook's Free Basics internet service app as part of a ruling in favour of net neutrality. The scheme offered free access to a limited number of websites. However, it was opposed by supporters of net neutrality who argued that
Simon Lester 15 Feb 2016 1 min read

Will Someone Please File a WTO Complaint against New Zealand?

In my daily trade news reading, I was surprised to come across this sentence: [New Zealand] has not lost a dispute at the WTO in 20 years. Can that really be true, I thought?  Luckily, there's a web site that tracks these things, so I looked up the
Simon Lester 12 Feb 2016 1 min read

Project Coordinator, TradeLab – International Economic Law (Trade and/or Investment)

From TradeLab: POSITION VACANT Project Coordinator, TradeLab – International Economic Law (Trade and/or Investment) Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, together with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, the University of Arizona, Qatar University School of Law and a number of international partners, is
Simon Lester 12 Feb 2016 3 min read

The Ministerial Decision on Export Competition

Can anyone enlighten me on how the obligation to eliminate export subsidies on agricultural products in articles 6 and 7 of the Ministerial decision on Export Competition  WT/MIN(15)/45 — WT/L/980  (https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/l980_e.htm  ) fits into
Brett Williams 10 Feb 2016 1 min read

How Are Aliens Treated in Domestic Courts?

From a post at the EFILA blog: An investor in a Host State court is automatically an alien, advancing a claim in a foreign court automatically places the investor at a disadvantage of itself. This seems like an assertion that could be studied empirically. How are aliens treated in domestic
Simon Lester 09 Feb 2016 1 min read

ISDS Transparency, But Only for Torontonians

There's an interesting NAFTA Chapter 11 claim going on related to wind energy. As Lise Johnson explains in Investment Arbitration Reporter: The NAFTA Chapter 11 case relates to an offshore wind energy project being developed as part of Ontario’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) Program. Windstream claims to have been
Simon Lester 09 Feb 2016 1 min read

Fact Checking the TPP

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade and investment agreement was formally signed by 12 ministers in Auckland on February 4. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon spoke in the Senate about the agreement. "It has been put to me that, if a government introduced poker machine legislation to
Simon Lester 04 Feb 2016 1 min read

Hatch: "it can take years to get [a trade] agreement through Congress AFTER it is signed"

Some cold water from Senator Orrin Hatch: Long story short, Mr. President, no one should be under any illusions that, because the TPP is being signed today, an up or down vote on the agreement is imminent or that our oversight responsibilities are at an end. If history has taught
Simon Lester 04 Feb 2016 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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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

Is Foreign Antitrust Enforcement "Discriminatory" and "Anti-American"?

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing in December on "Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses." There was a lot of talk at the hearing about how foreign regulations and regulators "discriminate" against American companies.
05 Jan 2026 5 min read

Pennsylvania Court Finds Mexican Government Guilty of "Discrimination" Due To Its Subsidies

I'm always interested in how courts apply the concept of "discrimination" in the context of international trade, so I've been eagerly awaiting a Pennsylvania court decision in a case against Mexico.
12 Dec 2025 8 min read

Economic Security in Trade Agreements: My Response to Geoff Gertz

Thanks to Geoff for laying out his vision of why economic security should be in trade agreements and how to bring it in. It won't surprise anyone to hear I have some additional comments and questions in response!
04 Dec 2025 10 min read

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