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Director of the Mandela Institute

The Mandela Institute is a leading university Centre concerned with research and capacity building in the area of global economic law. It also runs the programme of continuing legal education of the Wits School of Law. The research and teaching thrusts of the Mandela Institute are dynamic, have an African
Simon Lester 18 Apr 2013 1 min read

One of the Goals of the UN Arms Trade Treaty: Helping American Business

This is from a supporter of the UN Arms Trade Treaty: Importantly, the treaty would not force anything new upon the United States or upon American companies, because federal laws and regulations already require United States arms manufacturers to comply with a comprehensive export control system, one designed to keep
Simon Lester 18 Apr 2013 1 min read

Private Rights of Action in FTAs

This is from the recently completed Iceland-China FTA: Article 122 Private Rights Neither Party may provide for a right of action under its domestic law against the other Party on the ground that a measure of the other Party is inconsistent with this Agreement. The suggestion is that there is
Simon Lester 16 Apr 2013 1 min read

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=
Simon Lester 16 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 15 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 15 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Rob Howse 14 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 11 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 11 Apr 2013 1 min read

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
Simon Lester 10 Apr 2013 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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War Tariffs

This is a co-authored post by Kathleen Claussen and Tim Meyer. Last week, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing new tariffs of 50 percent of the value of any product coming from any country that sells weapons or provides military aid to Iran. Some commentators questioned
14 Apr 2026 5 min read

USMCA Review and Extension Predictions

When the idea of an expiration clause was suggested during the NAFTA renegotiation, I was against it from the start, and Inu and I wrote a pretty critical piece about it at the time. A review is great, we said, let's definitely have reviews, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
08 Apr 2026 5 min read

The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans

This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.
16 Mar 2026 4 min read

The Section 301 Surge Is Upon Us: Investigating Excess Capacity and Production

The first of a large batch of expected Section 301 investigations has arrived, as USTR announced yesterday that it was initiating investigations on acts, policies, and practices of various countries/economies "relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors."
12 Mar 2026 3 min read

Debunking the "Hyperglobalization" Trade Policy Myth

Policy is often shaped by narratives, and recently there has been a bipartisan effort to create a narrative that, starting in the early 1990s, globalization and free trade went too far.
03 Mar 2026 8 min read

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