International Economic Law and Policy Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • WorldTradeLaw.net
Sign in Subscribe

Should a WTO Appeals Body Be Able To Uphold an Appealed Issue Without Any Reasoning?

Back in June 2019, when the Appellate Body was hanging on for dear life, I offered this argument for allowing the Appellate Body to decline to offer any reasoning in situations where it was just upholding a panel's finding: I recently read something about the U.S. Judiciary
Simon Lester 28 Jan 2024 4 min read

Peter Harrell on a More "Targeted" Trade Strategy

Peter Harrell has a piece in Foreign Affairs entitled "How to China-Proof the Global Economy: America Needs a More Targeted Strategy." Harrell was the Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness on the White House National Security Council in the Biden administration, and I think of him as
Simon Lester 18 Jan 2024 11 min read

The GE Corn Dispute: U.S. Agriculture Challenges Mexican Culture

Logan Castellanos is a student at Georgetown University and an intern with WorldTradeLaw.net/International Economic Law and Policy Blog The United States is escalating its GE corn dispute with Mexico amid calls to action from members of Congress from corn-producing states. In response to changes in Mexico’s GE
Logan Castellanos 11 Jan 2024 11 min read

Why Is Dumping "Condemned" in the GATT?

GATT Article VI:1 states the following about dumping: The contracting parties recognize that dumping, by which products of one country are introduced into the commerce of another country at less than the normal value of the products, is to be condemned if it causes or threatens material injury to
Simon Lester 10 Jan 2024 5 min read

Managing Risks as a GATT Exception under GATT Article XX(j)

In January 2024, the EU will offer more information about its strategy for economic security. After the pandemic and war, the focus is on an approach to risk management. While we await more details, this post probes past jurisprudence to assess how earlier WTO adjudicators handled the potential of an
Mona Paulsen 08 Jan 2024 5 min read

The U.S.-Peru FTA Goes to Missouri

It’s not every day that a trade agreement finds its way into U.S. courts – especially not as a basis to dismiss a tort claim in Missouri. Tomorrow, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear Reid v. Doe Run Resources Corp. In a rather
Kathleen Claussen 08 Jan 2024 6 min read

A Very Old Semiconductors and National Security Trade Dispute

Through some searches I don't recall the details of, I stumbled on this paper, which makes reference to an old U.S. national security dispute over imports of semiconductor products: ... The very first trade dispute in semiconductors was in 1959. American transistor producers sought protection from Japanese exports
Simon Lester 05 Jan 2024 3 min read

Chip Subsidies, Exports, and CVDs

Subsidies are a big part of the Biden administration's economic policy, with a variety of types available. Some go directly to producers, while others are in the form of tax credits for consumers on their purchases of goods. How much is being spent? For semiconductor subsidies, which as
Simon Lester 28 Dec 2023 2 min read

Some Digital Trade Policy Proposals for the Biden Administration on Data Flow Obligations and Exceptions

Based on a couple recent meetings I was a part of, I thought it might be helpful to put together some specific proposals for digital trade provisions related to data flow obligations and exceptions, in the context of international economic agreements. The Biden administration appears to be having some internal
Simon Lester 19 Dec 2023 7 min read

Book Release - The Future of Trade: A North American Perspective

This is from David Gantz and Tony Payan: Our new book on trade law and policy, The Future of Trade: A North American Perspective, was published by Edward Elgar on December 15. For details, see here. "This critical book assesses the current trade policy challenges facing the US and
Inu Manak 16 Dec 2023 1 min read

About

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Expert commentary on the law, politics and economics of international trade and investment

Sign up for email notifications

[email protected]
Subscribe

Featured

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

Topics

2008 Presidential Election

25 posts

2012 Republican Primary

6 posts

2020 Democratic Primary

22 posts

2020 Presidential Campaign

6 posts

2024 Presidential Campaign

9 posts

2024 Republican Primary

9 posts

Announcements

27 posts

Appellate Body

72 posts

CAFTA

5 posts

CETA

8 posts

Currency Disputes

57 posts

Development

23 posts

Digital Trade

58 posts

Domestic Trade Powers

10 posts

Dormant Commerce Clause

3 posts

DSU 25 Interim Appeals

43 posts

DSU Article 11

13 posts

Economic Integration

8 posts

Economic Statecraft

9 posts

EU-UK Trade Negotiation

5 posts

Exceptions

19 posts

Exchange Rates

6 posts

Export Restrictions

13 posts

Food Aid

5 posts

Foreign Investment

21 posts

FTA Negotiations

13 posts

FTAs - General

22 posts

Gambling Dispute

52 posts

Global Governance

9 posts

Globalization

13 posts

Government Procurement

5 posts

Green Steel Deal

14 posts

IEEPA

9 posts

IEL in Domestic Courts

20 posts

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

5 posts

Industrial Policy

19 posts

Investor-State Arbitration

93 posts

Jamieson Greer

17 posts

Katherine Tai

66 posts

NAFTA

19 posts

NAFTA Chapter 11

15 posts

NAFTA Chapter 19

5 posts

National Security

38 posts

Non Appeal Pact

3 posts

Non-Discrimination Standards

60 posts

Non-Market Economies

6 posts

Non-Violation Nullification or Impairment

19 posts

Precedent

25 posts

Public Views of Trade

9 posts

Rare Earths

1 post

Robert Lighthizer

17 posts

Russia Trade Sanctions

17 posts

Sanctions

15 posts

Section 301

2 posts

Sovereignty

9 posts

Speech

1 post

SPS/TBT

5 posts

Standards of Review

7 posts

State Enterprises

7 posts

Sub-National Trade Issues

5 posts

Subsidies

83 posts

Tariffs

3 posts

Terms of Trade Manipulation

6 posts

Trade Agreements

21 posts

Trade and Competition

14 posts

Trade and Development

21 posts

Trade and Environment

117 posts

Trade and Health

20 posts

Trade and Human Rights

9 posts

Trade and Income Inequality

1 post

Trade and Intellectual Property

26 posts

Trade and Labor

25 posts

Trade and Peace

4 posts

Trade and Security

35 posts

Trade and the Stock Market

2 posts

Trade Balance

11 posts

Trade in Everything

65 posts

Trade in Services

21 posts

Trade Law and International Law

10 posts

Trade Preferences/GSP

23 posts

Trade Remedies

62 posts

Trans Pacific Partnership

8 posts

Trump Administration

53 posts

U.S. Trade Policy

32 posts

U.S. Trade Politics

60 posts

US-China Trade Relations

26 posts

USMCA

19 posts

USMCA Dispute Settlement

33 posts

USMCA Sunset/Review Clause

19 posts

USTR

16 posts

WTO - General

25 posts

WTO Accessions

8 posts

WTO Disputes

175 posts

WTO DS Reform

13 posts

WTO Jurisprudence

28 posts

WTO Negotiations

30 posts
Powered by Ghost