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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

Are Complainants Abandoning TBT Agreement Article 2.2?

This is from a paper about WTO dispute settlement published on the ICTSD website as part of the E15 process: there is evidence that the existing ... perception that claims under Article 2.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) are extremely difficult to win is having
Simon Lester 20 Apr 2015 1 min read

Could the Uruguay Round Be Completed Today?

This is from Pierre Sauvé and Marta Soprana: The ASCM, like the Uruguay Round of which it formed a part, was quite clearly the byproduct of a peculiar, “end of history” moment. It is doubtful that such disciplines could easily be replicated today given the vastly more questioning attitudes that
Simon Lester 20 Apr 2015 1 min read

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
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
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
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
Rob Howse 14 Apr 2015 5 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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