Japan might join.  And Korea is thinking about it as well. Is an expanded Trans Pacific Partnership a good development for trade agreements, helping create an important new free trade area?  Or will adding these large economy countries with sensitive agricultural sectors cause the TPP negotiations to get bogged down

There has been some talk about the Tea Party and free trade.  Dani Rodrik says: "Republicans who support the Tea Party are even more hostile to trade agreements than the rest."  He cites to this Pew poll.  Similarly, Robert Lighthizer says: "Strangely, for a movement named after

The ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group conference on "International Economic Law in a Time of Change: Reassessing Legal Theory, Doctrine, Methodology and Policy Prescriptions" is coming up on November 18-20, at the University of Minnesota Law School.  I see lots of big IEL names and interesting paper

If you can call them that.  This is from the official communique: Currencies: Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies: We reaffirm the importance of central banks' commitment to price stability, thereby contributing to the recovery and sustainable growth. We will move toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and enhance exchange

I think it's safe to say that there is some disagreement about whether quantitative easing will lead to economic growth.  Personally, I'm a skeptic.  I would rather focus on measures that promote long-term growth, for example those that can lead to productivity increases.  To me, quantitative

President Obama: "We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000 jobs at home. It is for

Following-up on Colin's post, I have been wondering for quite some time what the arguments were that the EU seal products ban violates EU law.  The Canadian seal fur people were kind enough to point me to their pleas here: The applicants put forward three pleas in law

Economist Don Boudreaux argues that free trade is about more than just "stuff," it's about cultural diversity: One of the chief concerns expressed by anti-globalization activists is that freer trade leads to worldwide cultural homogeneity. Paris, France, according to this view, will become just like Paris,

Speaking of mercantilism, here's something from a Greta Van Susteren interview with Donald Trump: VAN SUSTEREN:  ... All right, the economy, the unemployment rate not getting better. If you were advising the president, what would you tell him to do? TRUMP: Obviously the word is "jobs." How