I see a lot of talk these days by the Obama administration about "high standard" trade agreements (e.g., here).  They also refer to "21st century" trade agreements, presumably to convey a similar idea. So what do they mean by a "high standard" agreement?

Phil Levy of AEI tries to define modern protectionism: To better recognize protectionism in its modern guises, we offer three broad categories of protectionist measures: Intentional protectionism encompasses measures that are explicitly intended to favor domestic industry over imports. Incidental protectionism occurs when measures can be readily justified on other

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

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

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,

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 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