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Regulating Pesticides

This is from an article on the EU regulation of certain pesticides, in the latest issue of the Economist: MORE herbicides contain glyphosate, a weedkilling chemical, than any other agent. Monsanto, an agricultural giant, first sold Roundup, a product containing the stuff, to farmers in the 1970s. Since then use
Simon Lester 08 Mar 2016 2 min read

Trade in Everything: Lion Hunting Services

From the Washington Post a few weeks ago: They call it canned hunting. South African ranchers breed lions in captivity, from cubs to adults, then release them just after the arrival of a hunter who pays about $15,000 for a kill. Sometimes the animal is drugged to make it
Simon Lester 08 Mar 2016 1 min read

1990s Paul Krugman vs. Today's Paul Krugman

Back in the 1990s, I remember enjoying Paul Krugman's writings about trade policy and globalization.  But now he writes things like this: After all, doesn’t everyone know that protectionism causes recessions? Actually, no. There are reasons to be against protectionism, but that’s not one of them.
Simon Lester 06 Mar 2016 2 min read

The New Investment Appellate Court Will Have Remand

This is from Article 8.28, para. 2 of CETA: 2. The Appellate Tribunal may uphold, modify or reverse a Tribunal's award based on: (a) errors in the application or interpretation of applicable law; (b) manifest errors in the appreciation of the facts, including the appreciation of relevant
Simon Lester 02 Mar 2016 1 min read

Will the New Investment Court Be Used?

Todd Weiler is worried that the EU proposals for an investment court -- now in both the (yet-to-be-ratified) CETA and EU-Viet Nam FTA -- could lead to restrictive interpretations that make it too hard to win cases: The changes could lead to a tribunal that is seldom used, warned Todd
Simon Lester 02 Mar 2016 1 min read

A Graphic Depiction of CETA ISDS

Here is what @Trade_EU posted on twitter to help illustrate the new CETA ISDS: Not surprisingly, this graphic is getting rave reviews on twitter! I've seen (or offered myself) comments on the canoe, the bunny rabbits, the raccoon hat, the squirrel, the mustachioed Canadian who looks like
Simon Lester 02 Mar 2016 1 min read

The Right to Regulate Provision in EU Investment Chapters

In the EU proposal for an investment chapter in TTIP, there is a provision on the "right to regulate" that seemed confusing to me, and certainly not as strong as a real exception.  At the same time, some people apparently worried it was too strong. It looks like
Simon Lester 01 Mar 2016 1 min read

Canada Agrees to the EU's Investment Court System

Apparently, Canada has agreed to amend the CETA investment provisions, to include the EU's new investment court. Here is the EU summary of the changes: Background The most important elements of the revised CETA investment chapter are the following: Investment protection The revised CETA text includes a new
Simon Lester 29 Feb 2016 3 min read

Green Industrial Policy, Tariffs, and Domestic Content Requirements

The WTO panel report in India - Solar Cells, circulated last week, triggered some thoughts about green industrial policy, by which I mean government actions to help push us towards the use of cleaner energy. I'm skeptical of all industrial policy, and therefore I'm also skeptical
Simon Lester 29 Feb 2016 2 min read

INDIA-SOLAR CELLS: THE STRANGE ABSENCE OF THE SCM IN THE US CLAIM

In India-Solar Cells, the United States' first request for consultations was also made (beyond TRIMS and Article III:4 of GATT 94) pursuant to Articles 4 of the SCM prohibiting subsidies contingent about the use of domestic products. However, the United States' second request for consultations was not
Marc Benitah 29 Feb 2016 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Is There No Going Back on Trade? What Is the Path Forward? A Response to Lighthizer

Former U.S. Trade Rep. Bob Lighthizer has a new essay in Foreign Affairs, and I have some thoughts. I'm going to start with his brief big picture points on the direction of U.S. trade policy, and then go through a couple of the specific concepts he emphasizes.
27 Apr 2026 6 min read

The Section 301 Excess Capacity Investigation Needs Less Madness, More Method

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled President Trump’s emergency tariffs under IEEPA  unconstitutional, the administration scrambled to rebuild its tariff wall. While the announcement of Section 122 tariffs immediately following the ruling will provide a temporary patch, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office quickly began to utilize another
24 Apr 2026 6 min read

War Tariffs

This is a co-authored post by Kathleen Claussen and Tim Meyer. Last week, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing new tariffs of 50 percent of the value of any product coming from any country that sells weapons or provides military aid to Iran. Some commentators questioned
14 Apr 2026 5 min read

USMCA Review and Extension Predictions

When the idea of an expiration clause was suggested during the NAFTA renegotiation, I was against it from the start, and Inu and I wrote a pretty critical piece about it at the time. A review is great, we said, let's definitely have reviews, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
08 Apr 2026 5 min read

The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans

This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.
16 Mar 2026 4 min read

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