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Carving Tobacco out of Trade Agreements

I've heard this argument before, but I've never seen it written up (and thus been able to blog about it).  Here's the text of a draft letter to USTR Ron Kirk, which is being circulated by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez to her House colleagues: ... We
Simon Lester 07 Jul 2011 2 min read

New Zealand, Plain Packaging, and Investor-State

How is New Zealand reacting to the Philip Morris investment claim against Australia's plain packaging law?  This is from the New Zealand Herald: Big tobacco companies won't be able to sue the Government over anti-smoking laws, Prime Minister John Key says. Philip Morris Asia, based
Simon Lester 04 Jul 2011 1 min read

Currency Undervaluation at the CIT

Here's more on China currency issues, from Mark Drajem of Bloomberg: Aluminum-product makers filed a lawsuit to force the U.S. Commerce Department to levy tariffs on Chinese imports, countering the effect of a currency the companies deem to be undervalued. In a case at the Court
Simon Lester 04 Jul 2011 1 min read

The GOP Candidates on China's Currency

Here are a few quotes from some of the GOP Presidential candidates about the Chinese currency issue and trade with China generally. Romney and Pawlenty seem to be the China hawks, with Huntsman more dovish (in particular, see the last part of the Huntsman quote below). Mitt Romney: VAN SUSTEREN:
Simon Lester 04 Jul 2011 3 min read

Two Mitchell/Voon Papers

From Andrew Mitchell: Readers may be interested to read the following draft  papers that I have recently co-authored with Tania  Voon on the impact of WTO law on two ambitious new Australian schemes. The  first paper focuses on the  application of the GATS (and related obligations under Australia’s
Simon Lester 30 Jun 2011 1 min read

More from the CAFC on Inconsistent Zeroing

Following up on this post, here is another decision (JTEKT CORP v. US, released yesterday) from the CAFC that talks about whether the Department of Commerce can take an inconsistent approach to zeroing (no zeroing in investigations, but zeroing in administrative reviews): V. Commerce’s Use of Zeroing We  have
Simon Lester 30 Jun 2011 3 min read

Book Review of Dani Rodrik's "The Globalization Paradox"

Sometimes I write things longer than a blog post.  I've talked about Dani Rodrik's views on trade a number of times (see, e.g., here, here, here and here).  Now I've gone a little further, and written a book review of his latest book,
Simon Lester 30 Jun 2011 1 min read

Another Tobacco Investment Treaty Claim

Via a John Boscariol tweet, I see that there is a new tobacco regulation investment treaty claim in the works: INTERNATIONAL tobacco giant Philip Morris will launch legal action today aimed at forcing the Gillard government to back down on its plain-packaging legislation or face a compensation bill of
Simon Lester 26 Jun 2011 2 min read

What Aspect of a Measure Should be Considered under the GATT Article XX Sub-Paragraphs? Some Criticism

In three comments on the last post, the Appellate Body's new approach to what aspect of a measure should be considered under the GATT Article XX sub-paragraphs is getting heavily criticized.  In this post, I'm going to support some of that criticism, but then come
Simon Lester 26 Jun 2011 3 min read

What Aspect of a Measure Should be Considered under the GATT Article XX Sub-Paragraphs? (Follow-up)

Back in 2007, I posted the following: In its first decision, U.S. - Gasoline, the Appellate Body famously (relatively speaking) said: One problem with the [panel's] reasoning ... is that the Panel asked itself whether the "less favourable treatment" of imported gasoline was "primarily aimed at&
Simon Lester 22 Jun 2011 4 min read

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Why Section 338 Does Not Work in a GATT/WTO World: Lessons from Trade Law History

On July 21, 2026, President Trump exercised his authority under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (hereinafter Section 338) to impose the maximum amount of additional tariffs (fifty per cent) on Canadian cars, alcohol, and dairy, owing to his determination of Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US exports.
23 Jul 2026 10 min read

EU WTO Reform Proposal Seeks To Extend Accession-Based State Enterprise Rules To All Members

In a new WTO reform paper entitled "Further Reflections on Disciplines, Subsidies and Industrial policy," the EU argues for stronger WTO disciplines on the behavior of state enterprises.
17 Jul 2026 5 min read

Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs

Last month, USTR made a determination in its Section 301 investigation into "Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor."
10 Jul 2026 5 min read

How Should the EU Get Tough with China? Unilateral Action vs. WTO Complaints

I've seen several recent calls for the EU to get tougher in its economic relations with China, along with arguments that it has been too slow to act against the Chinese economic threat.
06 Jul 2026 4 min read

Trump Administration Decides Not To Extend USMCA for Another Term: What Does That Mean Exactly?

Today, as part of the first joint review of the USMCA, the three governments held a virtual meeting.
01 Jul 2026 4 min read

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