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

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
Simon Lester 23 Jul 2014 3 min read

Religious Freedom and the TTIP

From a draft letter ($) being circulated by a U.S. Congressman: Dear Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Froman, We are writing to express our serious concern regarding the growing assault on religious freedom in the European Union and many of its member states. Eight out of twenty-eight EU member states
Simon Lester 23 Jul 2014 1 min read

Menthol Cigarette Discrimination in the EU

Poland is going to to challenge the EU ban on menthol cigarettes under EU law: Poland will appeal to Europe's top court over a European Union ban on flavoured tobacco products, saying it will be unfairly affected as one of the region's biggest consumers and producers
Simon Lester 23 Jul 2014 1 min read

State Owned Enterprises at Home and Abroad

One aspect of the TPP negotiations that I have not followed closely is rules for state owned enterprises.  I'll take a look at it all eventually, but I've been waiting for more leaks and commentary, to explain the different views. In the meantime, though, I wonder
Simon Lester 21 Jul 2014 1 min read

Too Close Yet Too Far…

Well, I am not talking about two lovers, but the currently pending negotiation on the “Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).”  The United States and the European Union, representing the world’s most advanced (and perhaps most open) economies, still cannot get a trade deal done between themselves.  As we
Sungjoon Cho 18 Jul 2014 1 min read

The Scope of the Prudential Exception

We talked about the "prudential exception" here, here, and here.  I have a short law journal article coming out on this soon, where I basically argue that the exception is badly worded, nevertheless probably works as an exception, but could and should be redrafted in future trade agreements
Simon Lester 18 Jul 2014 4 min read

Investor-State Arbitration Tribunal v. Domestic Court

This is related to Simon’s earlier post. Matthew Dalton from Wall Street Journal raised an interesting hypothesis regarding the controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).  What if decisions of an investment tribunal and a domestic court on the same subject-matter
Sungjoon Cho 16 Jul 2014 1 min read

Is There a Middle Ground on ISDS?

From the European Commission: EU trade officials will today start analysing responses to a public consultation on investment protection and ISDS in TTIP, a new EU-US trade deal currently being negotiated. The survey closed yesterday, almost four months after its launch in March. European citizens and interest groups replied
Simon Lester 16 Jul 2014 1 min read

Sign up for email notifications

jamie@example.com
Subscribe

Featured

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

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

28 posts

Appellate Body

72 posts

CAFTA

5 posts

CETA

8 posts

Currency Disputes

60 posts

Development

23 posts

Digital Trade

60 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

12 posts

EU-China Trade Relations

3 posts

EU-UK Trade Negotiation

5 posts

Exceptions

19 posts

Exchange Rates

7 posts

Export Restrictions

13 posts

Food Aid

5 posts

Foreign Investment

21 posts

FTA Negotiations

14 posts

FTAs - General

22 posts

Gambling Dispute

52 posts

Global Governance

9 posts

Globalization

13 posts

Government Procurement

5 posts

Green Steel Deal

14 posts

IEEPA

9 posts

IEL in Domestic Courts

20 posts

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

5 posts

Industrial Policy

20 posts

Investor-State Arbitration

93 posts

Jamieson Greer

19 posts

Katherine Tai

66 posts

NAFTA

19 posts

NAFTA Chapter 11

15 posts

NAFTA Chapter 19

5 posts

National Security

38 posts

Non Appeal Pact

3 posts

Non-Discrimination Standards

62 posts

Non-Market Economies

7 posts

Non-Violation Nullification or Impairment

19 posts

Precedent

25 posts

Public Views of Trade

9 posts

Robert Lighthizer

19 posts

Russia Trade Sanctions

17 posts

Sanctions

15 posts

Section 301

17 posts

Sovereignty

10 posts

SPS/TBT

5 posts

Standards of Review

7 posts

State Enterprises

9 posts

Sub-National Trade Issues

5 posts

Subsidies

83 posts

Tariffs

4 posts

Terms of Trade Manipulation

7 posts

Trade Agreements

23 posts

Trade and Competition

14 posts

Trade and Development

21 posts

Trade and Environment

119 posts

Trade and Health

20 posts

Trade and Human Rights

9 posts

Trade and Income Inequality

1 post

Trade and Intellectual Property

26 posts

Trade and Labor

28 posts

Trade and Peace

4 posts

Trade and Security

35 posts

Trade and the Stock Market

2 posts

Trade Balance

13 posts

Trade in Everything

65 posts

Trade in Services

21 posts

Trade Law and International Law

10 posts

Trade Preferences/GSP

23 posts

Trade Remedies

64 posts

Trans Pacific Partnership

9 posts

Trump Administration

59 posts

U.S. Trade Policy

32 posts

U.S. Trade Politics

60 posts

US-China Trade Relations

29 posts

USMCA

20 posts

USMCA Dispute Settlement

34 posts

USMCA Sunset/Review Clause

25 posts

USTR

16 posts

WTO - General

25 posts

WTO Accessions

8 posts

WTO Disputes

178 posts

WTO DS Reform

13 posts

WTO Jurisprudence

28 posts

WTO Negotiations

31 posts

Zeroing

29 posts
Powered by Ghost