International Economic Law and Policy Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • WorldTradeLaw.net
Sign in Subscribe

Call for Papers: 4th Conference of the SIEL Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network

The Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network of the Society of International Economic Law has issued a call for papers for its fourth conference: 4th Conference of the Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network of the Society of International Economic Law (PEPA/SIEL) 2015 Milan, 16-17 April 2015 Organised by
Simon Lester 17 Oct 2014 2 min read

The Nature of "Serious Prejudice" Cases

In the comments on Sungjoon's post from the other day, Brett Williams said something really interesting: There are some aspects of this Cotton litigation which ought to be celebrated as great achievements of the system. ... Secondly, it was the first time (going all the way back to 1948)
Simon Lester 14 Oct 2014 2 min read

Speaking of Settling WTO Disputes ...

... as Sungjoon was in the last post, first up there's this announcement from the Canadian government: The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council; Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird; the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister
Simon Lester 13 Oct 2014 2 min read

To Perform (Comply) or Pay, That’s the Question!

The recent deal (settlement) between the United States and Brazil to end the long-standing cotton dispute has stirred up (old) controversy in the nature of WTO remedies, and more broadly the nature of the WTO itself: is the WTO a mere “contract” or something more than that, say, a “legal
Sungjoon Cho 09 Oct 2014 2 min read

Fixing ISDS vs. Excluding Tobacco Control from ISDS

Back in 2012, I argued against a carve out of tobacco from trade and investment rules, saying this: Let’s turn now to the argument, made by many critics of the current system, that existing trade rules that go beyond protectionism undermine national sovereignty, including the ability to regulate, and
Simon Lester 08 Oct 2014 4 min read

Tobacco Plain Packaging in India

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Adarsh Ramanujan: In a very interesting development in India relating to the plain packaging of tobacco products, the High Court of Allahabad (State of Uttar Pradesh) recently ordered that the Government of India "must consider to implement" the plain packaging
Simon Lester 05 Oct 2014 3 min read

TTIP Hurdles

I have a short Cato paper discussing how the TTIP could actually get done, despite a few big hurdles it is facing. I tried to be optimistic, maintain a positive outlook, and suggest a way forward. However, I should note that what I hear from people who actually are insiders
Simon Lester 02 Oct 2014 2 min read

CETA, Investment Obligations, and Public Debt

This is from the officially released CETA text (p. 184): Annex X: Public Debt 1. No claim that a restructuring of debt issued by a Party breaches an obligation under Sections [Non-Discriminatory Treatment, Investment Protection] may be submitted to, or if already submitted continue in, arbitration under Section 6 [Investor-State
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2014 1 min read

Does CETA Violate WTO Obligations? How About NAFTA Chapter 11?

This is from the U.S. dairy industry: The text of the European Union-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) released at the end of last week contains provisions on geographical indications (GIs) and reallocates a portion of the World Trade Organization tariff rate quota for cheese to the EU.
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2014 1 min read

Trade Liberalization and Tobacco Control

I've heard it suggested that opening up developing country tobacco markets to foreign competition will mean lower prices and greater consumption.  But is that true?  This article calls this into question: For more than two decades, public health scholars and proponents have demonstrated concern about the negative effects
Simon Lester 01 Oct 2014 1 min read

About

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Expert commentary on the law, politics and economics of international trade and investment

Sign up for email notifications

[email protected]
Subscribe

Featured

Jamieson Greer on the 30 Year Aberration in U.S. Trade Policy

When he was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer talked a bit about U.S. trade policy history and described a recent period during which, in his view, U.S. trade policy shifted away from tariffs/protectionism and towards free trade.
29 Jan 2026 6 min read

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

Topics

2008 Presidential Election

25 posts

2012 Republican Primary

6 posts

2020 Democratic Primary

22 posts

2020 Presidential Campaign

6 posts

2024 Presidential Campaign

9 posts

2024 Republican Primary

9 posts

Announcements

25 posts

Appellate Body

72 posts

CAFTA

5 posts

CETA

8 posts

Currency Disputes

57 posts

Development

23 posts

Digital Trade

55 posts

Domestic Trade Powers

10 posts

Dormant Commerce Clause

3 posts

DSU 25 Interim Appeals

43 posts

DSU Article 11

13 posts

Economic Integration

8 posts

Economic Statecraft

8 posts

EU-UK Trade Negotiation

5 posts

Exceptions

19 posts

Exchange Rates

5 posts

Export Restrictions

13 posts

Food Aid

5 posts

Foreign Investment

21 posts

FTA Negotiations

12 posts

FTAs - General

21 posts

Gambling Dispute

52 posts

Global Governance

9 posts

Globalization

13 posts

Government Procurement

5 posts

Green Steel Deal

14 posts

IEEPA

8 posts

IEL in Domestic Courts

20 posts

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

5 posts

Industrial Policy

19 posts

Investor-State Arbitration

93 posts

Jamieson Greer

15 posts

Katherine Tai

66 posts

NAFTA

18 posts

NAFTA Chapter 11

15 posts

NAFTA Chapter 19

5 posts

National Security

37 posts

Non Appeal Pact

3 posts

Non-Discrimination Standards

59 posts

Non-Market Economies

5 posts

Non-Violation Nullification or Impairment

16 posts

Precedent

25 posts

Public Views of Trade

9 posts

Rare Earths

1 post

Robert Lighthizer

17 posts

Russia Trade Sanctions

17 posts

Sanctions

15 posts

Sovereignty

9 posts

Speech

1 post

SPS/TBT

5 posts

Standards of Review

7 posts

State Enterprises

7 posts

Sub-National Trade Issues

5 posts

Subsidies

83 posts

Tariffs

2 posts

Terms of Trade Manipulation

6 posts

Trade Agreements

16 posts

Trade and Competition

14 posts

Trade and Development

20 posts

Trade and Environment

117 posts

Trade and Health

20 posts

Trade and Human Rights

8 posts

Trade and Income Inequality

1 post

Trade and Intellectual Property

25 posts

Trade and Labor

23 posts

Trade and Peace

4 posts

Trade and Security

32 posts

Trade and the Stock Market

2 posts

Trade Balance

9 posts

Trade in Everything

65 posts

Trade in Services

21 posts

Trade Law and International Law

9 posts

Trade Preferences/GSP

23 posts

Trade Remedies

62 posts

Trans Pacific Partnership

8 posts

Trump Administration

45 posts

U.S. Trade Policy

29 posts

U.S. Trade Politics

58 posts

US-China Trade Relations

26 posts

USMCA

18 posts

USMCA Dispute Settlement

33 posts

USMCA Sunset/Review Clause

18 posts

USTR

15 posts

WTO - General

20 posts

WTO Accessions

8 posts

WTO Disputes

175 posts

WTO DS Reform

12 posts

WTO Jurisprudence

28 posts

WTO Negotiations

30 posts

Zeroing

29 posts
Powered by Ghost