International Economic Law and Policy Blog (Page 48)

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How Deliberation Can Help the WTO, but Not Fix It

This week, the European Union circulated a proposal for WTO reform focusing on the organization’s deliberative function. The EU is upfront and direct in saying that its top priorities for reform are still the same—getting dispute settlement back online, building on multilateral and plurilateral negotiations, and the development

Manufacturing and Trade Balances: A Response from Rob Atkinson

This is a response from Rob Atkinson of ITIF to my post on Manufacturing and Trade Balances: Recently Simon Lester and I got in a Twitter debate about the importance of the trade deficit and manufacturing. Interesting as far as these things go, but at some point you can only

The MPIA: What’s New? (Part I)

On 21 December 2022, more than two and a half years after its creation, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) finally produced its first appellate award.[1] The inaugural MPIA award was issued in a dispute filed by the EU in November

Manufacturing and Trade Balances

Recently, I tweeted this about the trade balance: Ro Khanna's Twitter bio says "Trade surplus again." I wish people would think more deeply about the trade balance. Here are some good pieces to read: https://cato.org/blog/trade-deficit-disorder… https://cato.org/testimony/americas-

New Paper on "The Extension of Legal Precedent": How Much Reliance on Precedent Is Too Much?

Precedent in trade law is a hot topic these days. Jeffrey Kucik, Lauren Peritz, and Sergio Puig have a new article out called "Legalization and Compliance: How Judicial Activity Undercuts the Global Trade Regime." This is the abstract: The crisis facing the World Trade Organization illustrates the trade-

U.S. Views on MPIA Arbitrators' Consideration of AD Agreement Legal Standard of Review

At last Friday's DSB meeting, the U.S. had some positive things to say about how the MPIA arbitrators in the Colombia - Frozen Fries dispute handled the issue of the AD Agreement Article 17.6(ii) legal standard of review: - The United States intervenes to comment on the

The Curious Case of US Self-Judging, Part 2

Last Friday, the United States appealed the US-Origin Marking Requirement (DS597) and the US-Steel and Aluminium Products (DS544,552, 556, 564) reports. With the appeal came news that the US would lead an effort to draft an authoritative interpretation of GATT Article XXI. This U.S. administration will

National Security Disputes, Non-Violation Nullification or Impairment, and Authoritative Interpretations

At today's DSB meeting, in the context of the consideration of the U.S. - Steel/Aluminum and U.S. Origin Marking panel reports, the U.S. offered the following explanation of why it was appealing the reports into the void, as well as some broader steps it might

Expanding US Free Trade Agreements in Pursuit of Clean Energy and Trade Justice

Expanding US Free Trade Agreements in Pursuit of Clean Energy and Trade Justice Steve Charnovitz 26 January 2023 In 2022, the United States (US) Congress passed yet another statute (US Public Law 117–169) violating the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). One provision of that statute has received

The Risks and Economic Consequences of Inefficiency

Here is something U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai said at a World Economic Forum event last week: So I think that whether it's in the world of goods trade, or services trade, or digital trade, part of what we are struggling with right now at this inflection