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Merrill & Ring v. Canada: More About NAFTA Ch. 11 Non-Discrimination Standards

Continuing with my occasional (although becoming somewhat frequent) posts on NAFTA Chapter 11 non-discrimination standards, there is a new decision to talk about: Merrill & Ring v. Canada.  The basic facts, from the Tribunal: 26. This case concerns a claim by the Investor in respect of the implementation of Canada‘
Simon Lester 11 Apr 2010 8 min read

Causes of the China Currency Detente

Assuming we are on our way to a resolution of the China currency dispute, what caused the situation to improve so rapidly, when not long ago the rhetoric was getting quite heated?  Dan Drezner sets out some possibilities, along with his view: If China's shift is a real
Simon Lester 08 Apr 2010 2 min read

SIEL Translations: Mercosur TPR Decision, 1/2005

The Society of International Economic Law has just released the first fruits of a trial project it is running, translating Spanish language material related to international economic law into English. The first project has been to translate the first decision of the MERCOSUR Permanent Tribunal for Review (No1/2005), on
Andrew Lang 08 Apr 2010 2 min read

Settlements in Cotton and the Chinese Currency Disputes?

There has been some talk of settling two big disputes, the U.S. - Cotton WTO dispute and the Chinese currency dispute.  Cotton has progressed a bit further.  USTR provides the following details: ... the United States agreed to work with Brazil to establish a fund of approximately $147.3 million
Simon Lester 07 Apr 2010 2 min read

A Possible WTO Complaint on Credit Card Services

I had seen brief references to a WTO complaint against China related to the credit card industry, but didn't know the details.  Here's the argument, as set out by Eric Grover in the Washington Times: Chinese banks have 1.88 billion debit cards and 190 million
Simon Lester 07 Apr 2010 1 min read

GATT Article XII and Trade Balancing

In the comments, Jim Mathis points me to this paper by Terence Stewart and Elizabeth Drake, entitled "Addressing Balance-of-Payments Difficulties under World Trade Organization Rules".  The background they provide on GATT Article XII and balance of payments issues is excellent.  They pack a lot of information into a
Simon Lester 05 Apr 2010 3 min read

Treasury Delays the "Currency Manipulation" Decision

As everyone has probably heard by now, Treasury Secretary Geithner announced over the week-end that he would delay the decision on whether to label China a currency manipulator.  From the press release: I have decided to delay publication of the report to Congress on the international economic and exchange rate
Simon Lester 05 Apr 2010 5 min read

Call for Submissions to ASIL Insights - International Economic Law Edition

The International Economic Law Interest Group (IEcLIG) of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) is soliciting short submissions to ASIL Insights- International Economic Law Edition.  ASIL Insights are meant to provide objective, succinct analysis of topical issues.  Subjects should be timely and submissions should be short (less than 2000
Sungjoon Cho 03 Apr 2010 1 min read

The Impact of Currency Manipulation and Government Subsidies

In the comments, Peter Gallagher refers me to an op-ed by Greg Mankiw on Chinese currency excange rate issue.  To me, the key point in the Mankiw piece is this one: Critics of China say it is keeping the yuan undervalued to gain an advantage in the international marketplace. A
Simon Lester 02 Apr 2010 1 min read

DOC Evaluating Prospective vs. Retrospective Duty Systems

From a DOC federal register notice: In the conference report accompanying the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law: 111-117, the conferees directed the Secretary of Commerce to work with the Secretaries of the Departments of Homeland Security and the Treasury to conduct an analysis of the relative advantages and disadvantages
Simon Lester 02 Apr 2010 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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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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