International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 301)

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Sign in Subscribe

Postscript to the Asbestos Dispute

From the CBC: Canada's asbestos industry is effectively and finally shut down, with Industry Minister Christian Paradis's announcement Friday that the Canadian government will no long oppose the listing of asbestos as a hazardous substance in the international Rotterdam Convention. Paradis also said the federal government

More on Registration and Use of Trademarks: All or Nothing

Yesterday I asked how a product ban compares with plain packaging, in terms of the impact on trademark rights. After conversations with several people who saw a distinction between a product ban and plain packaging with regard to trademark rights, I had some additional thoughts. It seems to me that

Registration and Use of Trademarks

There was one point of substance I wanted to mention from the TPP event. I was talking with two people, one who thought plain packaging of cigarettes violates international IP rules and one thought it does not. The guy who thought it was a violation made the argument that a

Brief Notes from the TPP Meeting

Yesterday, I went to the stakeholders engagement part of the latest TPP negotiating round. (This is the 14th round of TPP negotiations. How many more will there be? Another 14?) This was the first time I've attended one of these. Here are some impressions. (But don't

SIEL/CUP Essay Prize

For you aspiring young scholars: A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law. The competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of any university

A Lawsuit against the WTO in U.S. Court

Seriously. Well, I don't know how serious it is. It may just be a PR stunt. The named defendants are the WTO, USTR Ron Kirk, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and the United States of America. The complaint is here. An excerpt: plaintiffs seek a declaration that the

WTO Disputes: It's All About Argentina

For a while now, I've been saying that WTO dispute settlement is all about China. But in recent months, it has been all about Argentina. 7 of the last 11 consultations requests have involved Argentina. Let's look briefly at how this all transpired. Back in September

Labelling of West Bank Products

Lorand posted the other day about the South Africa-Israel dispute over labelling of West Bank products. Sean Woolfrey of Tralac has more here: On August 22, the South African Cabinet released a statement approving a Department of Trade Industry (DTI) notice requiring South African traders to refrain from labelling goods

More Tim Groser on International Law and Sovereignty

A few weeks ago, I mentioned some discussion by NZ trade minister Tim Groser of sovereignty and international law. Here's a quote: "The whole point of international law is to put limits around countries' sovereignty on the basis of negotiated understandings." In a recent speech

SA-Israel dispute over West Bank products

The Guardian reports: A diplomatic row has been growing as Israel summoned the South African ambassador to explain his country's decision to label products from West Bank settlements as coming from the occupied Palestinian territories. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/23/israel-south-africa-west-bank-label This has been