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ISDS as Good Governance

There's a good back and forth on ISDS in TTIP between Lauge Poulsen, Jonathan Bonnitcha, Jason Yackee, on one side, and Freya Baetans, on the other.  I'm going to get 4 or 5 blog posts out of all this! I'll start with something from
Simon Lester 16 Mar 2015 2 min read

Can ISDS Serve as an International Antitrust Court?

This is from three well-known labor economists, writing in support of the TPP: If passed, the TPP also would create a powerful template for future trade deals, including with China, which would move the U.S. closer to resolving conflicts the WTO has been unable to handle. Consider, for
Simon Lester 15 Mar 2015 1 min read

A New Structure for Appellate Body Reports

The Appellate Body has announced a change related to how it approaches summaries of parties' arguments in its reports: The Appellate Body intends to continue the practice of asking participants in appeals to submit executive summaries of their written submissions. The deadlines for filing such summaries will also remain
Simon Lester 15 Mar 2015 2 min read

More on a TPP Secretariat

Continuing with the theme of issues I think are interesting, but few people are talking about, let me raise again the question of whether there should be a TPP Secretariat. This is from Deborah Elms: The TPP requires a robust Secretariat to ensure the long-term health and success of
Simon Lester 12 Mar 2015 3 min read

More on That Interesting Debate

In the comments on that last post, Marc Benitah asked why I thought this was such an important debate. I had been planning to explain this anyway, so I'm glad he asked. I think the distinction between "protectionism" and "terms of trade manipulation," as
Simon Lester 10 Mar 2015 2 min read

The Most Interesting Trade Debate You've Probably Never Heard Of

There's a great debate that has been going on slowly and sporadically, over a period of years, about the purpose of trade agreements.  On one side are Don Regan of Michigan Law School and economist Bill Ethier; on the other side are economists Kyle Bagwell and Rob Staiger,
Simon Lester 09 Mar 2015 4 min read

State Subsidy Competition Is Bad

From a new paper by economist Ralph Ossa: U.S. cities, counties, and states spend substantial resources on subsidies trying to attract firms. According to a New York Times database which I describe in detail later on, expenditures for such subsidies range from $33.4 million per year in Nevada
Simon Lester 08 Mar 2015 1 min read

Fifteen Fully Funded PhD Positions in Dispute Resolution in International Law

From the International Max Planck Research School for Successful Dispute Resolution in International Law: Fifteen fully funded PhD positions in International Law, starting in 2015 and 2016, are currently open at the International Max Planck Research School for Successful Dispute Resolution (IMPRS-SDR), a doctoral school established in Heidelberg (Germany)
Simon Lester 08 Mar 2015 1 min read

Worthwhile Canadian Appellate Decision

For years now, I've been fascinated by Canada's Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), which has a domestic trade dispute system that looks a lot like the dispute systems in international trade agreements.  I've never been able to generate much excitement from others about the
Simon Lester 05 Mar 2015 3 min read

Is There Anything That Can Be Done About Anti-Dumping?

In my view, there's not enough talk about anti-dumping these days. Most people seem to have accepted the status quo, and all the big mega-regional trade talks just ignore it. So, I'm always happy to see that some people still care about the issue.
Simon Lester 05 Mar 2015 1 min read

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Featured

What Kind of Discrimination Should Section 338 Target?

A couple weeks ago, the U.S. International Trade Commission asked for public comments on implementing Section 338.
25 Sep 2026 5 min read

Jake Sullivan Wants To Build On the Biden Administration's Industrial Policy

In a recent article, Jake Sullivan makes the case for continuing on with the Biden administration's economic policies, arguing for an even broader and more comprehensive industrial policy than what we saw under Biden.
13 Sep 2026 6 min read

How Difficult Will It Be Politically To Remove Trump's Tariffs?

Heather Hurlburt, who was the Chief of Staff for U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai from 2022-2024, recently poured some cold water on the idea that Trump's tariffs might be removed quickly after he is out of office.
12 Aug 2026 3 min read

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

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