International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 42)

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Ron DeSantis on China Trade

Unfortunately, U.S. election season is upon us, and perhaps it would be useful if I documented the presidential candidates' statements on trade. That's mostly going to feature the Republican presidential hopefuls (and hopelesses, if that's a word!), but if Biden says anything new and

Katherine Tai on Colonialism and Industrialization

You don't see much talk about "colonialism" in mainstream U.S. trade policy discussions, so I was excited to see this from U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai in her speech last week: Whether it is through working with us on the Critical Minerals Agreement, the

Katherine Tai Speech on Resilience and Security

In remarks yesterday that a USTR press release referred to as a "major speech," U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai offered a detailed explanation and defense of the Biden administration's trade policy. There were a number of points I disagreed with, but instead of going line

WTO DS Reform Proposals: Sunset Clause, ADR, and Streamlining the Panel Process

Geneva-based reporter Ravi Kanth has another piece about the ongoing WTO dispute settlement reform discussions, offering some detail on three specific proposals: -- review/sunset clause -- ADR -- streamlining the panel process On review and sunset, Kanth says the following: The UK introduced the proposal with the interests here pivoting around

Would a U.S. Carbon Border Tax Pressure Other Countries To Reduce Emissions, or Just Lead To Retaliation?

A recent Washington Post article describes a new piece of U.S. legislation that could eventually lead to the imposition of a carbon border tax: In a rare example of a bipartisan climate policy, momentum is growing on Capitol Hill for a plan to tax imports from China and other

USTR Goes Old School in USMCA Complaint on Mexican GE Corn Ban

Back in the 1990s, an important area of the trade policy debate was about how WTO rules might interfere with domestic environmental, food safety, and other public policy measures. There were cases such as Shrimp/Turtle, with a number of countries challenging a U.S. environmental measure; and EC - Hormones,

Security of Steel Capacity – and the Persistence of trade security exceptionalism

In its 2022 WTO Trade Policy Review for the United States (US), China asked the US about its Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium. Specifically, China asked about the US steel capacity utilisation rate target of 80% in the Steel Report. China asked the US whether it would now

The Supreme Court's Latest Ruling on the Dormant Commerce Clause: More Evidence that People Disagree on the Appropriate Degree of Economic Integration

It has been a while since I've written about a U.S. Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause case, but the recent National Pork Producers Council v. Ross decision provides a great opportunity to revisit the issue. Steve Charnovitz commented on the decision here. (Here are some other takes:

“Nice” Trade Lawmaking: How Congress Talks With The USTR

Readers will likely recall the exchange between Ambassador Tai and Rep. Greg Murphy during the annual trade policy agenda hearing a few weeks back in which Rep. Murphy said he thought Ambassador Tai was "too nice" to be effective as the USTR. You remember it because it went

Opt Outs, NVNI, or Automatic Rebalancing for National Security Disputes

Veteran U.S. trade lawyers Warren Maruyama and Alan Wolff have a new paper out on "Saving the WTO from the national security exception". In their conclusion, they set out three solutions to the "impasse over justiciability of national security claims": (1) allowing Members to "