International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 253)

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Domestic Regulation and Services Trade in the WTO: What scope is there for enhanced disciplines?

A guest post by Aik Hoe Lim and Bart De Meester [1]: Recent disputes concerning Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement – in particular US - Tuna II (Mexico) and US - Clove Cigarettes – have focused attention on measures that, even when not discriminatory, may constitute barriers to trade in

Free Trade Is a Two-Way Street, and So Is Protectionism

Daniel Ikenson (Cato Institute) made an insightful observation in a blog post (“WTO Indictment of Chinese Export Restrictions Unearths U.S. Hypocrisy”). Here are some excerpts from his post. “During the last decade (2000-2009), four out of every five antidumping measures (79.4%) were imposed on imported intermediate goods. Over

Does TTIP Need ISDS?

From the FT last week: Mr De Gucht said the negotiations to create what would be the world’s biggest free trade zone would be at risk if an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism was not part of the proposed deal. “I doubt it,” he responded when asked if the pact

Protectionism, Health, and the Purpose of Country of Origin Labelling

From a ruling last week on the U.S. COOL measure by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit: What then are the government interests here? AMI argues that the rule merely satisfies consumers’ curiosity. But we can see non-frivolous values advanced by the information. Obviously it

What Are the "Cogent Reasons" that Could Justify Not Following AB Precedent?

From yesterday's DS449 WTO panel report: 7.317. ... In our view, bearing in mind the Appellate Body's particular function in the WTO dispute settlement system, reasons that could support but would not compel a different interpretative result to the one ultimately adopted by the Appellate Body

Legal Analysis of the Trade Facilitation Agreement

I still don't know much about the Trade Facilitation Agreement, but law prof Antonia Eliason does, and she has written an article about it. Here's the abstract: This article provides a first analysis of the new WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, tracing it from its origins in

Associate Editor Position

From the MJIEL: ASSOCIATE EDITOR/S FOR THE MANCHESTER JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW (MJIEL) The MJIEL is looking for Associate Editor/s with a proven and distinguished record in research in the field of International Economic Law to work with Professor Asif H Qureshi and Dr Xuan Gao and

Trade Constitution 2.0

Both Professor Howse and Simon raised an important issue in the China-Rare Earths panel report, whose full ramifications, I believe, would go beyond this particular dispute. To me, the panel’s ostensibly nebulous position on GATT Article XX denotes hermeneutical birth pangs for the “Trade Constitution 2.0.” What I

China - Rare Earths: Some Systemic Issues

The China - Rare Earths WTO panel report was circulated yesterday. What's jumping out at me in the report are some really interesting systemic issues. First, there is some good stuff about the role of precedent, and when a WTO panel might depart from prior Appellate Body reasoning

Rare Earths:The Right to Regulate as a General Principle of WTO Law and a Canon of Interpretation

This won't be my last post on Rare Earths, but its the first. In China-Publications the Appellate Body addressed the possibility that the Article XX general exceptions might apply with respect to obligations under agreements other than the GATT, in that case China's Protocol of Accession.