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New Paper on WTO Security Exception

Trade lawyers Stephen Kho, Yujin McNamara, Sarah Kirwin, and Brooke Davies have a new working paper published by the Graduate Institute, entitled "The Conundrum of the Essential Security Exception: Can the WTO Resolve the GATT Article XXI Crisis and Save the Dispute Settlement Mechanism?" This is from their
Simon Lester 13 Nov 2023 1 min read

What Does the Biden Administration Like about the 1950s-1970s Economy and Trade Policy?

In a new Foreign Affairs piece where he makes the case for the Biden administration's approach to foreign policy, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks up what he sees as the good things that were happening in U.S. economic policy in the 1950s through the 1970s, and
Simon Lester 13 Nov 2023 4 min read

Conference: The UK’s Accession to CPTPP: Legal and Policy Issues

Lorand Bartels sent along this notice of a CPTPP conference: The Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge is holding a conference on ‘The UK’s Accession to CPTPP’ on 1 December 2023, covering legal, policy, and geostrategic issues. Details and registration: https://www.lcil.cam.ac.
Simon Lester 11 Nov 2023 1 min read

Understanding the "Progressive Nationalist" View of Trade and International Economic Policy

I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone to hear that people who write about politics and policy often have an ideological agenda. (And yes, I confess that sometimes I have one! Maybe I should label my posts that have an ideological agenda so as
Simon Lester 08 Nov 2023 8 min read

Is the Foreign Pollution Fee Bill WTO-Compliant?

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced the Foreign Pollution Fee bill (S.3198), which would impose a fee on certain carbon-intense imports. A FAQ document for the bill explains how this would work: The legislation imposes a fee on products imported into the U.S. that
Simon Lester 05 Nov 2023 3 min read

The U.S. Changes Its Mind in the WTO E-Commerce Negotiations

The U.S. made headlines last week by withdrawing some proposals it had previously made on specific aspects of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce negotiations. Many pro-trade people were upset by this decision, but for reasons I will explain below, I wasn't as bothered. My first
Simon Lester 30 Oct 2023 3 min read

ISDS Event at Georgetown Law Tomorrow

This is from Georgetown Law's Center on Inclusive Trade and Development: Please join Senator Elizabeth Warren and Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz on Wednesday, October 25, 1:30-2:30 PM ET for a special event on the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) regime. Georgetown Law’s Center on Inclusive Trade
Simon Lester 24 Oct 2023 1 min read

Political Compromise and Reducing Carbon Emissions

In a new paper, law prof Tim Meyer offers a defense of combining (1) discriminatory regulations such as local content requirements with (2) subsidies to reduce carbon emissions. In the abstract of the paper, he says: Second, like all policies, green trade policies usually pursue multiple objectives. The fact that
Simon Lester 23 Oct 2023 5 min read

The Fifth USMCA Panel

Yesterday, there was a notice posted here about panel composition in the Mexico - GE Corn (USMCA) case, with the following panelists having been appointed: * Christian Häberli, Chair of the panel * Hugo Perezcano Díaz, panelist * Jean E. Kalicki, panelist Kalicki is American and Perezcano Díaz is Mexican, so even though
Simon Lester 20 Oct 2023 1 min read

Katherine Tai on Industrial Policy, the Global Steel and Aluminum Arrangement, and EU Digital Regulation

Last week, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai spoke at the Center for American Progress. You can watch the whole event here. As I try to do whenever I have time and she says something in the Q & A that intrigues me, I'm going to quote a
Simon Lester 15 Oct 2023 11 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Jamieson Greer on the 30 Year Aberration in U.S. Trade Policy

When he was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer talked a bit about U.S. trade policy history and described a recent period during which, in his view, U.S. trade policy shifted away from tariffs/protectionism and towards free trade.
29 Jan 2026 6 min read

Is this the end of MFN as we know it? The EU submission on WTO reform and the meaning of development

With the release of the EU submission on WTO reform, it has become clear that the MFN principle’s central role within the WTO architecture is under challenge. As a keystone, it risks the entire bridge falling. Even if the foundations are retained but deemed outdated or unusable, and a
23 Jan 2026 3 min read

Can "Geopolitical" Tariffs Be Dealt With through Trade Deals?

Last Friday, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was asked about Trump's initial suggestion of tariffs related to the goal of taking over Greenland
20 Jan 2026 4 min read

Is Foreign Antitrust Enforcement "Discriminatory" and "Anti-American"?

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing in December on "Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses." There was a lot of talk at the hearing about how foreign regulations and regulators "discriminate" against American companies.
05 Jan 2026 5 min read

Pennsylvania Court Finds Mexican Government Guilty of "Discrimination" Due To Its Subsidies

I'm always interested in how courts apply the concept of "discrimination" in the context of international trade, so I've been eagerly awaiting a Pennsylvania court decision in a case against Mexico.
12 Dec 2025 8 min read

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