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Telemedicine Policy Forum

I've put together a Cato policy forum on telemedicine, May 28 in DC.  This goes beyond international trade.  I'll have some things to say about trade, but then we'll get into more general health policy and con law issues: In the United States and
Simon Lester 27 Apr 2015 1 min read

President Obama Is Not Worried About ISDS Challenges. Should He Be?

This is President Obama talking about ISDS: "This is the notion that corporate America will be able to use this provision to eliminate our financial regulations and our food safety regulations and our consumer regulations. That’s just bunk. It’s not true. “ISDS is a form of dispute
Simon Lester 27 Apr 2015 3 min read

Ethanol and ISDS

I'm not going to stop criticizing ISDS, but while it is still here (and that may be for a long time), I'm going to look for ways to use it to promote my political preferences.  Here's an example: “THEY are jealous,” says Terry Branstad,
Simon Lester 26 Apr 2015 1 min read

Challenge to an omission of a systemic nature – US – Shrimp II (Viet Nam) and Argentina – Import Measures

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Adarsh Ramanujan : The Appellate Body, in its report circulated on April 7, 2015, rejected Viet Nam’s appeal in US – Shrimp II (Viet Nam) (DS429). The appeal was limited to one Article 11, DSU claim, covering the Panel’s rejection of Vietnam’
Simon Lester 26 Apr 2015 5 min read

An Almost Unintelligible Measure of Benefit in the Recent Currency Bill?

In the previous “Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act”, the benefit to the recipient from an undervalued currency was defined in an intuitive way. According to this Act, a benefit exists in the case of an undervalued currency: ... if the exporter or producer receives or is entitled to receive more
Marc Benitah 24 Apr 2015 1 min read

Online Gambling in the U.S.

It's booming, at least in fantasy sports: The daily fantasy sports boom began somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in March 2009. On a trip from Britain to Texas, flying to the South by Southwest festival, Eccles pored through a copy of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA)
Simon Lester 23 Apr 2015 1 min read

The "Right to Regulate" and FET

I was watching the Senate Finance Committee markup of the TPA bill last night -- I really enjoy the "voice votes," where they all speak as loudly as they can! -- and I was struck by an exchange between Senator Sherrod Brown and USTR General Counsel Tim Reif.
Simon Lester 23 Apr 2015 1 min read

Sovereignty in the TPA Bill

Last year, I mentioned a puzzling provision on "sovereignty" in the TPA bill introduced in the Senate.  This year's Senate TPA Bill has the same provision, but I'm going to highlight a different aspect: SEC. 8. SOVEREIGNTY. ... (c) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT REPORTS.—Reports, including findings
Simon Lester 22 Apr 2015 1 min read

The Problem With Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements

From some economists: Recent decades have witnessed two major trends in international trade. First, technological progress and falling trade barriers have led to the emergence of global value chains and to a surge in international trade in intermediate goods. Second, there has been a proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs)
Simon Lester 22 Apr 2015 1 min read

More on Best Treatment and National Treatment

Here's the conclusion of the paper by Arwel Davies that I mentioned a while back: The advice for Treaty drafters is that there is some scope for clarifying the TNLF [treatment no less favourable] standard, to the extent that phrases such as ‘no less favourable than the most
Simon Lester 20 Apr 2015 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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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