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Of Carrots and Sticks:Why Economics Sanctions Relief is the Only Way Forward With Iran-the Threat of Force is Delusional

Recently on this blog, Ruti Teitel and I suggested some ideas for persuading Iran's leaders that economic sanctions relief in return for restored nuclear curbs can be of durable economic benefit for the country-even on the nightmare scenario of a future Administration breaking America's word and
Rob Howse 23 Dec 2021 3 min read

Applying the Mandatory / Discretionary Distinction to the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument

I've been thinking about the mandatory/discretionary distinction because it came up in the panel report in the recent U.S. - Olives from Spain case (which was adopted by the DSB today, i.e., not appealed into the void by the U.S., which is kind of
Simon Lester 20 Dec 2021 4 min read

A Seventh Agreement To Use the MPIA

As readers can probably tell, I'm using this blog to track all the WTO disputes for which there have been agreed procedures between the parties for using the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). See this link for the whole list (along with other developments in this area)
Simon Lester 20 Dec 2021 1 min read

What Are the Core Trade Principles of the Biden Administration?

I'm trying to understand the core trade principles of the Biden administration, and I'm a bit puzzled. Based on various statements by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and others in recent months, I would have thought the dominant view was that trade liberalization had gone
Simon Lester 17 Dec 2021 1 min read

Binding Precedent and Precedential Value

The WTO panel report in India - Sugar and Sugarcane, circulated earlier this week, has a number of interesting passages about the role of precedent. They are a bit disconnected, and for some of them all I have is the panel's summary rather than the full statement from
Simon Lester 17 Dec 2021 4 min read

From Grievances to Guarantees: Getting to Yes in the Iran Nuclear Talks

(This post is co-authored with Ruti Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law at New York Law School and a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations) After a long hiatus that followed a change in Iran’s political leadership (and something of a  rocky start in the
Rob Howse 15 Dec 2021 4 min read

Non-Discrimination and the EV Tax Credits in the Build Back Better Act

There has been a lot of Twitter discussion about the possibility that the electric vehicle (EV) tax credits in the Build Back Better Act violate USMCA or WTO obligations. There are actually three components to these tax credits, and I thought it was worth doing a quick analysis of each
Simon Lester 14 Dec 2021 3 min read

Countering the "Unfettered Liberalization" Narrative

At a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event today, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the following: But I think that we have pursued a really unfettered liberalization policy for the past many years and decades. And it is part of what has brought us to this current reality
Simon Lester 09 Dec 2021 1 min read

(Untitled)

The draft agriculture text has nothing in it - What a laugh! I wonder if some of you have had a chance to look at the text produced by the Negotiating group on Agriculture for MC12 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/agri_30nov21_e.htm The
Brett Williams 08 Dec 2021 1 min read

Angela Ellard on Misperceptions in the US/Capitol Hill about the WTO

At an AEI/Brookings event yesterday, WTO DDG Angela Ellard spoke and offered some interesting insights into how people in the U.S. (and elsewhere) misunderstand the WTO: Neena Shenai: I wanted to turn to your perspectives on the WTO, given your experience and your personal experience on Capitol Hill.
Simon Lester 07 Dec 2021 1 min read

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Some Questions about the Cambodia and Malaysia Trade Deals

The White House released the texts of trade agreements with Cambodia and Malaysia today. I have lots of questions about this.
26 Oct 2025 3 min read

How Should the U.S. Respond To China's Non-Market Practices?

In an interview last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talked about the Trump administration's response to China's non-market practices. Part of this response, as he presents it, has been for the U.S. to pursue a specific version of state-led industrial policy as a defensive measure.
20 Oct 2025 5 min read

Guest Post: Too Big To Fail: The EU Steel Industry, Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 and the EU’s Free Trade Agreements

This is a guest post by trade lawyer Victor Crochet and law professor Weihuan Zhou Steel has long been a contentious topic in international trade, in part because of the numerous jobs it creates and its relevance to downstream industries including those related to national defense. In the European Union
13 Oct 2025 8 min read

Beware the "Securitization" of Trade Policy

In recent years, U.S. trade policy has seen a creeping takeover by "security" concerns. The precise scope of these concerns is unclear, but they appear to cover both the traditional aspects of military-related security as well as the vague and amorphous concept of "economic security."
06 Oct 2025 4 min read

Stephen Miran on Tariffs and National Savings

In a speech earlier this week, Stephen Miran, who had been the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and is now a member of the Federal Reserve Board, made his case for a looser monetary policy. One aspect of his argument was that he thinks national savings will be
24 Sep 2025 4 min read

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