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

The Scope of the MFN Standard

When it comes to non-discrimination, National Treatment gets most of the attention.  But MFN can be interesting, too.  Here's a passage from the U.S. third participant submission in the EC - Fasteners appeal: 24. A number of WTO rules explicitly recognize that, in the context of AD
Simon Lester 27 Apr 2011 1 min read

The Latest on the Seals Dispute

From last week's DSB meeting, where the panel for Norway's complaint was established: Norway said it was of the firm view that the EU seal regime was inconsistent with WTO rules. The EU believed that the WTO was not an appropriate forum to discuss Norway’s
Simon Lester 26 Apr 2011 1 min read

New Appellate Body Members Needed

From last week's DSB meeting: The DSB chair, Ambassador Johansen (Norway), announced that the first term of two Appellate Body members, Ms Jennifer Hillman and Ms Lilia Bautista will expire on 10 December 2011. Under article 17.2 of the DSU, Appellate Body members are appointed by the
Simon Lester 26 Apr 2011 1 min read

What Remand Might Look Like in WTO Dispute Settlement

From the draft negotiating text on dispute settlement (Word doc), released last Thursday by the WTO, here's the section on remand: 17.12(b)           Where the Appellate Body finds that there is not a sufficient factual basis to complete the analysis with respect to certain issues, it shall
Simon Lester 24 Apr 2011 1 min read

The Impact of Exchange Rates on Trade

From Canada's Financial Post: ... The data is clear that Canadian consumers can save major bucks if they head south of the border to buy their goods. A Bank of Montreal study released this month looked at a basket of goods and found on average Canadians were spending 20%
Simon Lester 24 Apr 2011 1 min read

Is the WTO Gambling Dispute Back?

For selfish reasons, I kind of hope so.  It was a lot of fun to watch, and I've missed it the past couple years.  This Reuters article suggests it may be on its way back: The United States violated global trade law by shutting down Internet gambling sites
Simon Lester 21 Apr 2011 1 min read

More on Donald Trump's Trade Policy

I'm not sure it's worth the effort to talk much more about Donald Trump's trade policy, but some of his recent statements raise an issue that applies beyond just his particular trade views.  The Wall Street Journal article noted in the last post says
Simon Lester 21 Apr 2011 2 min read

Donald Trump as U.S. Trade Rep

Dan Drezner critiques Donald Trump's views on trade policy and Iraq: From the Wall Street Journal: As for foreign policy, Mr. Trump said he is "only interested in Libya if we take the oil," and that if he were President, "I would not leave Iraq
Simon Lester 18 Apr 2011 1 min read

More on the New Zeroing

As discussed in a number of posts on this blog, "zeroing" is under attack in various ways at the WTO and in domestic courts.  But even if these attacks succeed, as noted here "targeted dumping" may become the new way to use "zeroing" as
Simon Lester 18 Apr 2011 1 min read

Australia, the TPP and Investor-State

As noted in the last post, Australia has announced that it no longer wants any part of investor-state dispute settlement.  This is not a total surprise, of course, given its past opposition to investor-state in the U.S.-Australia FTA.  Nonetheless, such a strong and formal renouncement of investor-state is
Simon Lester 17 Apr 2011 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

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

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

25 posts

Appellate Body

72 posts

CAFTA

5 posts

CETA

8 posts

Currency Disputes

57 posts

Development

23 posts

Digital Trade

55 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

8 posts

EU-UK Trade Negotiation

5 posts

Exceptions

19 posts

Exchange Rates

5 posts

Export Restrictions

13 posts

Food Aid

5 posts

Foreign Investment

21 posts

FTA Negotiations

12 posts

FTAs - General

21 posts

Gambling Dispute

52 posts

Global Governance

9 posts

Globalization

13 posts

Government Procurement

5 posts

Green Steel Deal

14 posts

IEEPA

8 posts

IEL in Domestic Courts

20 posts

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

5 posts

Industrial Policy

19 posts

Investor-State Arbitration

93 posts

Jamieson Greer

15 posts

Katherine Tai

66 posts

NAFTA

18 posts

NAFTA Chapter 11

15 posts

NAFTA Chapter 19

5 posts

National Security

37 posts

Non Appeal Pact

3 posts

Non-Discrimination Standards

59 posts

Non-Market Economies

5 posts

Non-Violation Nullification or Impairment

16 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

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

2 posts

Terms of Trade Manipulation

6 posts

Trade Agreements

16 posts

Trade and Competition

14 posts

Trade and Development

20 posts

Trade and Environment

117 posts

Trade and Health

20 posts

Trade and Human Rights

8 posts

Trade and Income Inequality

1 post

Trade and Intellectual Property

25 posts

Trade and Labor

23 posts

Trade and Peace

4 posts

Trade and Security

32 posts

Trade and the Stock Market

2 posts

Trade Balance

9 posts

Trade in Everything

65 posts

Trade in Services

21 posts

Trade Law and International Law

9 posts

Trade Preferences/GSP

23 posts

Trade Remedies

62 posts

Trans Pacific Partnership

8 posts

Trump Administration

45 posts

U.S. Trade Policy

29 posts

U.S. Trade Politics

58 posts

US-China Trade Relations

26 posts

USMCA

18 posts

USMCA Dispute Settlement

33 posts

USMCA Sunset/Review Clause

18 posts

USTR

15 posts

WTO - General

20 posts

WTO Accessions

8 posts

WTO Disputes

175 posts

WTO DS Reform

12 posts

WTO Jurisprudence

28 posts

WTO Negotiations

30 posts

Zeroing

29 posts
Powered by Ghost