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Treaty Interpretation and Titles of Provisions

For those of you who are in to treaty interpretation, this is from last week's China - Raw Materials Appellate Body report: 320. In addition, we note that Article XI of the GATT 1994 is entitled "General Elimination of Quantitative Restrictions". The Panel found that this
Simon Lester 06 Feb 2012 1 min read

Julia Qin on GATT Article XX and China - Raw Materials

Julia was trying to comment on this post, but neither she nor I could make the comment go through, so I'm putting it here as a separate post: Technically, the accession protocol should be an independent legal instrument that establishes China's accession to the WTO Agreement,
Simon Lester 02 Feb 2012 1 min read

From Russia with Humanity-More on Seals

The recently reported Russian prohibition on seal fur imports adds an important element of context for the EU’s dispute with Canada and Norway over its seal products ban.   The details of the Russian ban are in this WTO document:  http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/table1_
Rob Howse 31 Jan 2012 1 min read

China - Raw Materials and OPEC

Buried in the last paragraph of a NY Times article on the China - Raw Materials case, I saw this: Western governments have periodically considered filing an international trade case against nations in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for limiting oil exports. But they have refrained from filing, having
Simon Lester 30 Jan 2012 1 min read

The China - Raw Materials AB Report: GATT Article XX and Non-GATT Agreements

In the China - Raw Materials appeal (the AB report, circulated today, is here), China argued that "Article XX of the GATT 1994 is available as a defence to China in relation to export duties found to be inconsistent with China's obligations under Paragraph 11.3 of
Simon Lester 30 Jan 2012 1 min read

More on Technical Regulations vs. Standards

I'm still thinking about the difference between "technical regulation" and "standard" in the U.S. - Tuna dispute.  Here's my latest thought.  Once again, let me quote the relevant language.  The TBT Agreement defines "technical regulation" and "standard"
Simon Lester 29 Jan 2012 2 min read

Free Trade (Or Not) With Cuba

From Thursday's Republican Presidential nomination debate: RODRIGUEZ: Yes, good evening. The U.S. has been largely away in its foreign and trade policy with Latin America. In the meantime, Iran and China have been increasing their influence over an involvement in Latin America through the leftist and left-leaning
Simon Lester 29 Jan 2012 5 min read

Subsidies and the State of the Union Speech

Via Sallie James of Cato, I see that blogger Matt Yglesias points out the following in President Obama's State of the Union speech: ... After lambasting companies that “ship jobs overseas,” Obama launched into a feel-good anecdote about how “Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte and formed
Simon Lester 26 Jan 2012 2 min read

The TBT Cases are Coming!

I've been saying this over and over, so I won't say it anymore.  Instead, I'll quote Hunter Nottage and Alejandro Sánchez of the ACWL, from a new Global Trade and Customs Journal article: The US-Tuna II report tackled a range of novel interpretative questions
Simon Lester 26 Jan 2012 1 min read

The Scope of "Technical Regulations" under the TBT Agreement

Recalling the discussion in two previous posts (here and here), I'm still trying to sort out what I think of the issue of whether the labelling measure in U.S. - Tuna II is a "technical regulation." The TBT Agreement defines "technical regulation" and
Simon Lester 25 Jan 2012 2 min read

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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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