Yesterday the European Commission submitted a proposal to EU member states to commence negotiations for a FTA with Japan.  The announcement said "Priority in the negotiations will be the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade on the Japanese market, as well as access to Japan's public procurement

We are looking for a full-time research assistant at Cato's trade policy center.  Here are the details: The Cato Institute seeks a research assistant to support the efforts of its  trade scholars, who focus on educating the public about the benefits of free  trade and the costs of

See the recently released UNCTAD World Investment Report 2012.  It proposes S&D treatment in investment, including provisions for non-binding national treatment and "fair and equitable treatment" norms for the less developed party.  I wonder whether they have determined that these types of reduced commitments would make

See Petros Mavroidis' briefing paper at CUTS International.  He argues that poor countries have problems identifying violations that hurt them, and have further problems because retaliatory enforcement hurts their own welfare.  He suggests that existing proposals for DSU reform do not address these issues, although the proposals for monetary

This is why we need more "social marketing" for the cause of free trade. Here goes an insightful posting by Dan Ikenson (Cato Institute). http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/why-not-make-olympic-uniforms-china "If you are still not convinced of the folly of our policymakers' objections, consider this:

From a speech by WTO DG Pascal Lamy: Growing  interdependence among nations, as well as growing consumer awareness, have  certainly focused greater attention on NTMs [non-tariff measures]. As the use of NTMs increases, the  potential for friction is likely to increase. A number of high-profile disputes  have already arisen around

The trend continues, this time under the GATS.  This is from yesterday's China - Electronic Payment Services panel report: 7.702 In the light of the above, we consider that a likeness determination should be based on arguments and evidence that pertain to the competitive relationship of the

The Trade, Law, and Development journal has a special issue on WTO dispute settlement. I have a piece in it on the development of standards of appellate review, focusing a bit on appeals of factual issues and issues related to the application of the law to the facts. As I

Via Kevin Heller, here is the opinion of James Crawford on a possible EU ban on trade with the West Bank settlements as it relates to WTO issues: 133. For the sake of completeness, it might also be mentioned that in extending a ban on settlement trade, the EC would

A quote from NZ trade minister Tim Groser: "Of course trade agreements involve concessions over the sovereign rights of countries to do things," he told the Weekend Herald. " That's the point of international law." New Zealand's problem had been the "excess