International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 389)

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The First WTO Dispute of the Year: Another Alcohol Tax Discrimination Case

Sometimes I think that being involved in an alcohol tax discrimination dispute is kind of like a rite of passage for WTO Members. The latest one is the first complaint of 2010: United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced today that the United States has requested World Trade Organization (WTO)

Barbie Protectionism

From AFP: Chavez, in his weekly radio-TV show "Alo Presidente," called on Venezuelan manufacturers to make "educational" toys and dolls with indigenous peoples' features to replace capitalistic counterparts like the Barbie doll that "have nothing to do with our culture." ... Venezuela, Chavez

Using Trade Measures to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, Etc.

A couple days ago, I posted about Pascal Lamy's speech on human rights, where he said, among other things, that " trade measures are the most commonly used instrument in developed countries to put pressure on states violating human rights. " Presumably, one type of measure he had

Google's Troubles in Foreign Markets: First China, Now France?

From the Economist: FRENCH internet executives, bloggers and web users cringed in early January when an independent report for the ministry of culture proposed a tax on online advertising revenues, aimed at American firms such as Google, Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo! and Facebook, to pay for new subsidies for the music,

The China - Publications Decision: Is The Appellate Body Becoming "Activist"?

Activist is a loaded term, I know, and that's not really what I mean. What I have in mind is the Appellate Body's apparent willingness in China - Publications to address issues that it could have avoided, and its establishment of standards that make issue avoidance more

Fred Abbott on the Seizure of Generic Drugs in Transit

Fred Abbott has posted "Seizure of Generic Pharmaceuticals in Transit Based on Allegations of Patent Infringement: A Threat to International Trade, Development and Public Welfare" on SSRN: This essay addresses the legitimacy of seizures by the customs authorities of some European Union member states of pharmaceutical products moving

Google and China: Protectionism or Censorship?

In Foreign Policy, journalist Jordan Calinoff asks, "Is web censorship just an excuse to drive out foreign competition and give a boost to Chinese brands?" He then writes: ... Google, like Yahoo before it, has been systematically forced out of the market by a Chinese government determined to purge

Pascal Lamy on Trade and Human Rights

WTO DG Pascal Lamy makes some interesting points (as he often does) in his recent speech on trade and human rights. Here are the ones that jumped out at me (quoted portion indented), with some quick comments. 1. Good governance and transparency are essential for trade. What role do human

Proposed Amendments to the AB Working Procedures

The Appellate Body is proposing some amendments to its Working Procedures (Word Doc): We propose the following three amendments to the Working Procedures: · First, we suggest that an appellant's written submission be filed when an appeal is commenced, namely, on the same day as the filing of a

Anti-Dumping Laws as a Reason for Foreign Investment

From the FT: Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecoms equipment company, is to make a $500m investment in its research and development operations in the southern Indian city of Bangalore as part of an effort to avoid falling foul of tension between New Delhi and Beijing. Max Yang, Huawei's