Following up on the post from the other day, let's see what the EU member states think of an investment agreement with China: The European Commission decided today to ask the Member States for their agreement on a mandate to open negotiations on an investment agreement with China.

Well, sort of: The WTO’s Appellate Body ruled that the program’s requirement that meat producers gather a greater amount of information about meat origins than is ultimately conveyed to consumers downstream violated WTO requirements. To address this concern, USDA’s new rule will offer consumers more precise labels

The issue of trade in lethal injection drugs came up a while ago in relation to U.S. excecutions.  But we are not the only executioner around, and similar issues have now arisen in Viet Nam: Vietnam has issued a new law allowing domestically produced chemicals to be used in

I've always thought that the importance of production and process methods for the analysis of WTO rules is greatly overstated, but I recognize that others find it relevant, or at least interesting.  Hence, I feel obligated to point to the following statement by the AB in para. 5.

From Reuters: Some EU member states are also concerned that a procedure included in the mandate to allow for resolving disputes between investors and states. While such dispute mechanisms are increasingly common in free trade agreements, some EU diplomats say they are not necessary for two parties with strong legal

Commenting on the panel report, economist Amar Breckenridge says no: The reason governments choose to support the development of renewables is not primarily because of concerns regarding the adequacy and affordability of supply. Rather it is because lower emissions sources of energy, such as renewables, confer a positive benefit to

With Simon's permission, I wanted to let you know about two calls for candidates we have in Geneva: 1. A 50% job, to help me run and supervise the Trade & Investment Law Clinic at the Graduate Institute, and to set up a new, related internet platform www.

I've done several posts related to the Canada - Renewable Energy AB reasoning on "benefit."  As I noted, there is some uncertainty as to the potential scope of the ruling.  How much leeway do governments now have to provide finanical contributions in a way that "

Arizona State University asked me to post this: The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law seeks a dynamic, proactive, and highly-motivated individual for the position of Director of the Center for Law and Global Affairs. The Director will report to the Dean of the College and will work

The WSJ has a strange article on Roberto Azevedo's selection as DG.  It starts: A depressing rule of international institutions is that whatever their founding intentions they inevitably evolve to serve themselves or their worst members more than their original cause. The latest example is the World Trade