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What Is the Economic Purpose of the GATT/WTO? Free Trade/Anti-Protectionism vs. Market Access

In his latest Trade Talks podcast, my friend Chad Bown has covered a topic that he and I have discussed several times: What is the economic purpose of the GATT/WTO? I assume he knew his podcast would generate a reaction from me, and I don't want to
Simon Lester 22 Mar 2023 10 min read

Another Canada - Dairy TRQs Panel

When I say "another" in the title, I mean that in two senses: a second USMCA Canada - Dairy TRQs panel brought by the U.S.; and another one to complement the one recently brought by New Zealand under the CPTPP. The U.S. first written submission in
Simon Lester 22 Mar 2023 2 min read

(Untitled)

Recommend Scott Lincicome, "The Obscure Maritime Law That Ruins Your Commute" If any of you have ever wondered about para 3(a) of GATT 1994 the first sentence of which provides: The provisions of Part II of GATT 1994 shall not apply to measures taken by a Member
Brett Williams 20 Mar 2023 1 min read

BIICL Training Course on WTO Law

This is from the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL): The training course in WTO Law offers an in-depth dynamic and applied knowledge of the regulatory framework of the multilateral trading system, covering both the institutional and substantive law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO has
Inu Manak 20 Mar 2023 1 min read

Guest Post: The EU’s Industrial Strategy and Supply “Resilience”

This is a guest post from Victor Crochet, Trade lawyer and PhD student at Cambridge University In response to the United States of America (“US”) Inflation Reduction Act and regained interest in industrial policies, the European Union (“EU”) recently announced its Green Deal Industrial Plan. The EU’s goal with
Simon Lester 19 Mar 2023 4 min read

First CPTPP Panel Composed

As noted on the blog here, in May 2022 New Zealand filed the first ever CPTPP consultations request, relating to Canadian measures "concerning the allocation of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) under CPTPP (dairy TRQ allocation measures)." A panel request was filed in November 2022. On March 9,
Simon Lester 16 Mar 2023 1 min read

From Karl Sauvant on an Advisory Centre on International Investment Law

9 March 2023 Establishing an Advisory Centre on International Investment Law: Key challenges ahead by Karl P. Sauvant* Over 130 countries (of which some 80 developing countries, including 18 least developed countries) have so far faced treaty-based international investment disputes (74 new disputes in 2021 alone), for a total of
Trachtman 11 Mar 2023 11 min read

Japan Joins the MPIA

There seems to be a bit of momentum with the MPIA these days. There was the recently issued Colombia - Frozen Fries award, which MPIA Arbitrator Joost Pauwelyn told us about. And now Japan is joining the arrangement, as METI just announced: More than three years have passed since the
Simon Lester 10 Mar 2023 1 min read

The MPIA: What's New (Part III)

Now that I addressed what the MPIA is and whether/how it works, let me turn to the third, and final, post in this series: What are some of the novelties that can be found in the first MPIA procedure? The list of eight items below is limited to procedural/
Joost Pauwelyn 06 Mar 2023 9 min read

One More Time on Manufacturing and Trade Balances

Rob Atkinson was nice enough to respond to my post on manufacturing and trade balances. I have thoughts on a lot of the points he made, but to keep the debate as simple and clear as possible, I'm going to try to focus on a few key issues,
Simon Lester 01 Mar 2023 3 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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War Tariffs

This is a co-authored post by Kathleen Claussen and Tim Meyer. Last week, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing new tariffs of 50 percent of the value of any product coming from any country that sells weapons or provides military aid to Iran. Some commentators questioned
14 Apr 2026 5 min read

USMCA Review and Extension Predictions

When the idea of an expiration clause was suggested during the NAFTA renegotiation, I was against it from the start, and Inu and I wrote a pretty critical piece about it at the time. A review is great, we said, let's definitely have reviews, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
08 Apr 2026 5 min read

The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans

This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.
16 Mar 2026 4 min read

The Section 301 Surge Is Upon Us: Investigating Excess Capacity and Production

The first of a large batch of expected Section 301 investigations has arrived, as USTR announced yesterday that it was initiating investigations on acts, policies, and practices of various countries/economies "relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors."
12 Mar 2026 3 min read

Debunking the "Hyperglobalization" Trade Policy Myth

Policy is often shaped by narratives, and recently there has been a bipartisan effort to create a narrative that, starting in the early 1990s, globalization and free trade went too far.
03 Mar 2026 8 min read

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