International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 473)

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Medellin and WTO Decisions

The international law experts at Opinio Juris will have more insightful things to say about today's Medellin decision than I could ever think of, but one issue jumped out at me when I skimmed through it. At page 8, the Court says: No one disputes that the [ICJ&

Thea Lee on NAFTA Chapter 11

I've been intrigued with the brief mentions of investor-state arbitration during the Presidential campaign. Here is something on this subject from Thea Lee, policy director for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO): The NAFTA investment chapter should also be revisited. NAFTA

NEO-MERCANTILISM IN THE DOHA ROUND: IS THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE PARADIGM STILL RELEVANT?

More and more, I am puzzled by the discourse of WTO negotiators in the Doha Round. The WTO is supposed to be a free trade organization, and until further notice, the ideological basis of free trade is the comparative advantage paradigm. As we know, this paradigm implies “sacrificing” the sectors

IS A BIOFUEL (ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL) AN INDUSTRIAL OR AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT IN THE WTO?

While working on my forthcoming book on the law of subsidies under the WTO, I am constantely intrigued by the many subtleties relating to the legal status of subsidies to biofuels. One of the major subtlety in this regard is to know when a biofuel is an agricutural product and

MFN in the New Zealand-China FTA

While Europe has been criticized for insisting upon MFN in its EPAs with its Caribbean trading partners, it seems New Zealand has managed to negotiate the same in its impending FTA with China. I have been a critic of New Zealand's 'first in' strategy to trade

Is the Gambling Suspension Finally Coming?

Back in December, Antigua won the right to suspend concessions and other obligations against the U.S. in the amount of US$21 million in relation to U.S. restrictions on online gambling. So far, though, Antigua has not taken any action to put the suspension into effect. Antigua'

Wheat Export Restrictions

From the AP: The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making Americans' daily bread — and bagels and pizza and pasta — feel a little like luxury items. ... Earlier this week, representatives of the U.S. baking industry went to Washington to ask the Bush

Some Canadian Support for NAFTA Changes

It looks like there are at least some people in Canada who support the idea of opening up the NAFTA for re-negotiation: The NDP is joining U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls in their promise to change NAFTA, with Leader Jack Layton telling an American audience today the trade agreement

The End of the A Contrario Argument?

This post concerns the so-called a contrario argument under the SCM Agreement Illustrative List. The issue is a bit technical, so some background may be in order. To give a brief overview, in the Brazil - Aircraft dispute, Brazil made the following argument in relation to the consideration of its

RTAs Conference in St. Louis

In early April, Saint Louis University School of Law will be holding the following conference on Regional Trade Agreements: Saint Louis University Public Law Review and The Center for International and Comparative Law presents: THE CHANGING TIDE OF TRADE: The Social, Political and Environmental Implications of Regional Trade Agreements Friday,