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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
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
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

Canada Must Sign in New Zealand with Other Ministers, According to the Government of Canada. Is This Right?

My colleague Sean Stephenson, in his personal capacity, had some thoughts on the presumption that Canada's Minister of International Trade must attend in New Zealand and sign the TPP in order for Canada to retain full membership. Enjoy his views. Alan In the lead up to a signing
Alan Alexandroff 01 Feb 2016 5 min read

The TPP and NTBs

This is from a Peterson Institute working paper, by Peter Petri and Michael Plummer, that estimates the economic effects of the TPP: The bottom half of the table shows NTBs, represented as tariffs that would have had the same protective effect (tariff equivalents). NTBs include quotas in agriculture and energy,
Simon Lester 01 Feb 2016 2 min read

A First Look at the EU's New Investment Court System

A few weeks ago, I noted that the EU - Viet Nam FTA would include the EU's proposed new Investment Court System (ICS). The text of that FTA has just been released, so now everyone can see what the big deal is. The ICS part is in Chapter 8,
Simon Lester 01 Feb 2016 1 min read

Talking Tuna

On Friday, ICTSD and WTI Adivisors hosted an excellent discussion of the US - Tuna II WTO Appellate Body report, with Lorand Bartels, Joel Trachtman, Iain Sandford, David Agnew, and Matthew Owens as speakers. You can view the recording here. Via twitter, I asked the following questions: "The AB focused
Simon Lester 31 Jan 2016 2 min read

Cecilia Malmstrom on the Precautionary Principle and TTIP

From a speech by EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom: I'd like to talk about three benefits in particular but the theme of today's event is the precautionary principle, so let me say a few words about that first. * As a starting point, it's good
Simon Lester 28 Jan 2016 2 min read

New Appellate Body Appointment

From the WTO: The DSB agreed with the Chairman’s proposal for appointment/reappointment of Appellate Body members. In particular, it agreed to launch a selection process for one position in the Appellate Body to replace Ms Yuejiao Zhang, whose second four-year term of office will expire on 31
Simon Lester 27 Jan 2016 1 min read

Senator Wyden on the TPP Tobacco Carveout

From Politico: “I pushed very, very, very aggressively for that tobacco provision to be part of this,” Wyden told POLITICO about the carveout that protects tobacco control-related policies from being challenged in investor-state cases. “I have watched the tobacco companies over the years particularly focus on global markets
Simon Lester 27 Jan 2016 1 min read

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Why Section 338 Does Not Work in a GATT/WTO World: Lessons from Trade Law History

On July 21, 2026, President Trump exercised his authority under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (hereinafter Section 338) to impose the maximum amount of additional tariffs (fifty per cent) on Canadian cars, alcohol, and dairy, owing to his determination of Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US exports.
23 Jul 2026 10 min read

EU WTO Reform Proposal Seeks To Extend Accession-Based State Enterprise Rules To All Members

In a new WTO reform paper entitled "Further Reflections on Disciplines, Subsidies and Industrial policy," the EU argues for stronger WTO disciplines on the behavior of state enterprises.
17 Jul 2026 5 min read

Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs

Last month, USTR made a determination in its Section 301 investigation into "Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor."
10 Jul 2026 5 min read

How Should the EU Get Tough with China? Unilateral Action vs. WTO Complaints

I've seen several recent calls for the EU to get tougher in its economic relations with China, along with arguments that it has been too slow to act against the Chinese economic threat.
06 Jul 2026 4 min read

Trump Administration Decides Not To Extend USMCA for Another Term: What Does That Mean Exactly?

Today, as part of the first joint review of the USMCA, the three governments held a virtual meeting.
01 Jul 2026 4 min read

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