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The fallacy of the Jul 31 deadline in the WTO TFA:inventing a crisis and demonizing India's democracy

The failure to agree yesterday at the WTO on the adoption of the Bali Trade Facilitation Agreement is widely being misrepresented in the media as the collapse of Bali and a new or renewed crisis for the WTO system.  True to their venerable habits of ultimatum diplomacy and pushing around
Rob Howse 01 Aug 2014 2 min read

Is Yukos a Foreign Investment Dispute?

I haven't read any of the submissions or the opinion in the Yukos investment arbitration, which resulted in the biggest award ever -- $50 billion! -- and has been making headlines in the past week. But from the articles about the case, what struck me is that the
Simon Lester 01 Aug 2014 1 min read

Michael Trebilcock's SIEL Lecture

This is a synopsis of Professor Michael Trebilcock's recent SIEL lecture (written by Michael): In my recent Robert Hudec public lecture to the Society for International Economic Law at its biannual conference in Bern, Switzerland (“Between Theories of Trade and Development: The Future of the World Trading System,
Simon Lester 01 Aug 2014 2 min read

Argentina Debt Issues and WTO Obligations

I'm a little late to the party on the most recent Argentine debt crisis.  I hadn't been paying much attention, but someone asked me to speak about it at a conference in October, so I thought I better try to figure it out!  There are a
Simon Lester 31 Jul 2014 2 min read

Arvind Subramanian on India, TFA, and Food Security

Arvind Subramanian has always been one of my favorite trade commentators.  Whatever topic he takes on, he has great insights.  This short piece he wrote on the current WTO trade facilitation/food security issue with India is no exception. He explains how policy changes in recent years have led to
Simon Lester 30 Jul 2014 2 min read

WTO Law Mooting

From Gujarat National Law University: Gujarat National Law University, one of India's premiere law schools, is proud to announce the 7th Edition of its flagship event, The GNLU INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION. (GIMC 2015) GIMC is one of the very few moot court competitions in the world where
Simon Lester 30 Jul 2014 2 min read

Investor-State as Judicial Review: Is that Controversial?

This is from Robert Basedow, a PhD candidate at LSE: ... It is helpful to distinguish between the substantive and procedural provisions under typical international investment agreements. The substantive provisions enumerate the rights of investors and states under these agreements, whereas the procedural provisions regulate how substantive provisions can be enforced.
Simon Lester 28 Jul 2014 2 min read

Seals vs. Tuna and Non-Discrimination

In the U.S. first written submission in the Article 21.5 WTO panel proceeding in U.S. - Tuna II, the U.S. distinguishes Tuna from Seals in regard to non-discrimination.  Here's the GATT MFN section: 287. The facts here are in contrast to the ones in
Simon Lester 25 Jul 2014 2 min read

Struggles at the WTO

In the negotiations: India blocked an agreement on new global customs rules on Thursday, angering fellow members of the World Trade Organization who say Delhi's veto could be costly, economically and politically. At a meeting in Geneva, diplomats from the 160 WTO member countries were supposed to rubber
Simon Lester 25 Jul 2014 1 min read

Larry Summers on TPP

From an interview in the New Republic: DV: Another thing you talked about in the FT op-ed was the Trans Pacific Partnership, the trade deal. One component of the deal is to bring down tariffs between all countries involved, but tariffs are already very low between these countries, particularly with
Simon Lester 23 Jul 2014 3 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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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

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