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The Tuna 21.5 WTO Panel Report: Timing of the Discrimination Analysis

This is from the Tuna 21.5 WTO panel report: 7.448. Before concluding, the Panel must deal with the United States' argument that with regard to the access to the dolphin-safe label, no tuna product of a Member has a right to the label. The United States contends
Simon Lester 17 Apr 2015 2 min read

The Tuna 21.5 WTO Panel Report: Unilateralism

This is from the Tuna 21.5 WTO panel report: 7.466. Before concluding, we note that in its second written submission, Mexico argues that what it considers to be the United States' unilateral action in designing and applying the dolphin-safe labelling conditions and requirements of the amended tuna
Simon Lester 17 Apr 2015 2 min read

ESIL Annual Conference 2015, Oslo

From the University of Oslo: The 11th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (Oslo, September 10-12, 2015) will be hosted by the University of Oslo’s PluriCourts Center on the Legitimate Roles on the Judiciary in the Global Order. The conference is entitled “The Judicialization of International
Simon Lester 17 Apr 2015 1 min read

Is the Tuna Case About Imposing Additional Costs on Domestic Producers?

I was struck by this paragraph of the WTO panel report in the Article 21.5 tuna case: 7.197. ... Mexico appears to accept that, as the Appellate Body found, the system currently in place in the ETP fully addresses the risks posed to dolphins by setting on dolphins in
Simon Lester 15 Apr 2015 1 min read

The Tuna/Dolphin 21.5 Decision: An Affront to the Authority of the Appellate Body, A Corruption of the DSU,A Menace to the Legitimacy of the WTO

In its ruling in the Tuna/Dolphin case, US-Tuna II, the WTO Appellate Body found that the role of the United States authorities in ensuring the integrity and honesty of a voluntary industry-based ecolabeling scheme violated the TBT Agreement in one narrow aspect.  The Appellate Body held that while the
Rob Howse 14 Apr 2015 5 min read

MFN in the ChAFTA

I'm a little confused by this aspect of the China - Australia FTA, still under negotiation: AUSTRALIA'S biggest-ever bilateral trade deal is set to grow much bigger, with China agreeing to a special ratchet clause that will ensure that future benefits conferred to other countries will
Simon Lester 14 Apr 2015 1 min read

The Tuna 21.5 WTO Panel Report

The panel report is out. Here are the key findings: 8.2. With respect to Mexico's claims under Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement, the Panel concludes that: a. the eligibility criteria in the amended tuna measure do not accord less favourable treatment to Mexican tuna and
Simon Lester 14 Apr 2015 2 min read

Regulatory Space in International Trade and Investment Law

This is from a new paper by Markus Wagner on regulatory space in trade and investment law: The situation with respect to the TBT Agreement has recently been clarified to a certain extent through a number of WTO decisions.  These disputes arose in quick succession after a relative dearth of
Simon Lester 13 Apr 2015 2 min read

Journal of World Investment & Trade Special Issue on ISDS

From the Journal of World Investment & Trade: Since the time that the Calvo doctrine held sway, Latin America’s ambivalent relationship to investor-state dispute settlement has not ceased to elicit discussions and debates and generate a string of scholarly writings. Recently the region’s multiple responses to investment arbitrations,
Simon Lester 13 Apr 2015 3 min read

Could Uber use TTIP ISDS?

If there ever is a TTIP, and if it has ISDS, would Uber have a case against the actions of various EU member states based on this: Uber Technologies Inc., which has faced a mounting regulatory backlash to its rapid growth in Europe, said this week it had filed complaints
Simon Lester 10 Apr 2015 1 min read

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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

The Section 301 Surge Is Upon Us: Investigating Excess Capacity and Production

The first of a large batch of expected Section 301 investigations has arrived, as USTR announced yesterday that it was initiating investigations on acts, policies, and practices of various countries/economies "relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors."
12 Mar 2026 3 min read

Debunking the "Hyperglobalization" Trade Policy Myth

Policy is often shaped by narratives, and recently there has been a bipartisan effort to create a narrative that, starting in the early 1990s, globalization and free trade went too far.
03 Mar 2026 8 min read

Guest Post: Are President Trump’s New Section 122 Tariffs Legal?

This is a guest post from Bryan Riley and Joe Bishop-Henchman. Bryan is Director of the Free Trade Initiative at the National Taxpayers Union; Joe is Executive Vice President at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation President Trump has issued new 10% tariffs, shortly after raised to 15%, based on Section
24 Feb 2026 6 min read

Section 122 as a (Partial) Replacement for the IEEPA Tariffs

Apparently, this is the era of dusting off old international economic policy statutes and figuring out what they mean and how they work. After the Supreme Court's ruling today in Learning Resources, holding that "IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs," we are now
20 Feb 2026 5 min read

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