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

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

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

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

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

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

For those of you who may have missed this interesting free new publication by the WTO, I point out " The History and Future of the World Trade Organization" by Craig VanGrasstek. It can be downloaded HERE for free as PDF. I looked through it, and I was surprised

I've been watching the confirmation hearing for Cecilia Malmström as the next EU trade commissioner.  It was really very interesting.  Much more detailed questions and answers than we usually see in U.S. congressional hearings. She suggested that she was open to the possibility of excluding ISDS from

From WTO DG Roberto Azevedo: Some years ago there was a proposal to increase the number of AB members. Under the current situation the 7 member AB can handle around 10-12 appeals at most per year. That’s stretching the envelope. And this is with AB Members working almost full-time.