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The NAFTA Renegotiation

After all the NAFTA-bashing during the Presidential campaign, I've been very interested in seeing what exactly President-Elect Obama has planned for NAFTA.  This may be a first glimpse: After he becomes president in January, Obama will order a study on the world’s largest trade agreement, then seek
Simon Lester 19 Nov 2008 1 min read

News from the Society of International Economic Law

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Colin Picker 18 Nov 2008 1 min read

Dani Rodrik Rejects Protection (at Least in Today's Economic Climate)

It has never been very clear to me what Dani Rodrik thinks of protection, so I was excited to hear him say this: At a time when the world is digging deeper into recession, exporting your problems through trade protection is the last thing that any responsible country should be
Simon Lester 17 Nov 2008 1 min read

WTO Scholars Forum Event in London

A new WTO Scholars Forum Event: Professor Geert Van Calster (University of Leuven, Institute for Environmental and Energy Law) ‘TLC – Trade and the Low Carbon Economy’ Chair: Mr Angus Johnston (Senior University Lecturer, University of Cambridge) Thursday 20 November 2008, 5-6.30pm, UCL Laws, London, Room SR1 (http://www.ucl.
Simon Lester 17 Nov 2008 1 min read

The G-20 on Protectionism

From the G-20 statement: 13. We underscore the critical importance of rejecting protectionism and not turning inward in times of financial uncertainty. In this regard, within the next 12 months, we will refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions,
Simon Lester 17 Nov 2008 1 min read

AB Member Baptista

Sad news from the Appellate Body: The head of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) top court, Brazilian lawyer Luiz Olavo Baptista, has resigned for health reasons, a senior WTO diplomat said on Friday. Best wishes to Professor Baptista. This means the AB Member selection process will start again.
Simon Lester 17 Nov 2008 1 min read

G-20 on the Bicycle

This from today's WSJ: The leaders embraced a renewed effort to unblock global trade talks and promised they will refrain from using commercial barriers to protect their own industries for the next 12 months. "We agreed on the importance of rejecting protectionism," Mr. Brown said. "
Trachtman 17 Nov 2008 1 min read

China – Financial Information Services: Dispute Settled

We had a good discussion on this blog about this case a year ago before the dispute was formally launched. See No News is Bad News at the WTO?  The U.S. and EU filed their WTO complaints in March 2008, and Canada joined them in June 2008. Now the
Julia Qin 15 Nov 2008 2 min read

"Forward-Looking Protectionism"

Via Jonathan Dingel, I see that Ha-Joon Chang is making the case for "forward-looking protectionism in the US."  A key sentence: Mr Obama should use protectionism in a similarly forward-looking way. Industries that can be revived through re-tooling of its factories and re-training of its workers should be
Simon Lester 14 Nov 2008 1 min read

The Auto Bailout and Trade Tensions

It appears that the multi-billion dollar aid package that will likely be given to the U.S. auto industry has not gone unnoticed by our trading partners: "We will look very carefully at the details of the proposed aid package to the U.S. auto industry, in order to
Simon Lester 14 Nov 2008 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

International Economic Law and Policy Blog

Expert commentary on the law, politics and economics of international trade and investment

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Featured

Comparing the Enforcement Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

Building on the comparison of trade agreement provisions in my last post, let's take a look at the "enforcement" provisions of the six agreements for which the legal texts have been published.
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Comparing the Economic and National Security Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals

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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.
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Is this the end of MFN as we know it? The EU submission on WTO reform and the meaning of development

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23 Jan 2026 3 min read

Can "Geopolitical" Tariffs Be Dealt With through Trade Deals?

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