WTO DG Odds
I have no idea who the next WTO DG will be. But if you think you do (and if you're in a place where it's legal to do so), you can bet on it here: http://www.paddypower.com/bet/current-affairs/world-trade-organization?ev_oc_grp_ids=
Regulatory Protectionism (and Legislative Protectionism?)
My Cato colleagues Sallie James and Bill Watson have a new paper on regulatory protectionism. On Thursday, April 18, there will be a policy forum on the paper here at Cato, with commentary by former AB Member Jim Bacchus and economist Don Boudreaux.
There's a lot going on
More Criticism of the Proposed EU Tobacco Measure
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned Malawi's criticism of the proposed EU tobacco products directive. Someone pointed out to me that the Dominican Republic also made a submission on this issue. There were two things I wanted to note in that submission.
First, in my post, I expressed
Finally, the WTO Starts to Think About Energy (and Climate)
At the beginning of ths month, following the release of a study by the IMF showing the severely negative climate impact of fossil fuel subsidies, I published an oped in the Toronto Globe and Mail lamenting that "despite the obvious importance both to climate change and competitiveness issues, the
More on E-Cigarettes
In response to the Economist articles on e-cigarettes that I mentioned recently -- which noted that "a switch from smoking to vaping could improve public health, some say" -- a couple of the letters to the editor make clear that there are differing views out there. Here is
Why Can't We Discriminate in Relation to Patents Based on the Field of Technology?
Article 27.1 of the TRIPS Agreement says: "patents shall be available and patent rights enjoyable without discrimination as to the ... the field of technology." The law is pretty clear, and doesn't leave much wiggle room.
But why is that the rule? Why shouldn't
BIICL 13th Annual WTO Conference
BIICL 13th Annual WTO Conference
Wednesday 15 May 2013 and Thursday 16 May 2013
BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP
British Institute of International and Comparative Law, organized in association with the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown Law, the Journal of International Economic Law, the Society of
More Support for India's Patent Policies
From economists Joseph Stiglitz and Arjun Jayadev:
The Indian Supreme Court’s refusal to uphold the patent on Gleevec, the blockbuster cancer drug developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, is good news for many of those in India suffering from cancer. If other developing countries follow India’s example,
"Is India undervaluing patents or is the rest of the world overvaluing them?"
Economist Arvind Subramanian comments on the Indian Supreme Court's Novartis ruling:
Critics have suggested that India is a deviant for being the only country where Novartis’ claim has been rejected. Left out is the fact that even in the United States, the Novartis application—which was really for
Food Labelling: Can There Be Too Much Information?
A couple weeks ago, I asked the following question in relation to the U.S. COOL measure: "What will consumers think of seeing details on where the animal was 'born, raised, and slaughtered' on every package of meat?" CNN's Jake Tapper was intrigued by