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The WTO Appellate Body: Why The Biden Administration Should Allow Appointments to be Reopened

Yesterday, the journal Global Policy published an essay of mine on the case for rebooting the WTO Appellate Body.  In the article, I propose a range of options for deciding what kind of judges the WTO needs going forward, and addressing some of the more justified criticisms of prior judges,
Rob Howse 29 Apr 2021 4 min read

Alan Wolff on the Appellate Body Crisis

The always insightful Alan Wolff was talking about The Future of the WTO at the Peterson Institute today. The whole thing is worth a listen, but I wanted to highlight his response to my question on the Appellate Body crisis during the Q & A: Adam Posen: Simon Lester asks,
Simon Lester 29 Apr 2021 1 min read

Katherine Tai's Responses on Phase One, Section 301, and Lumber/Steel/Solar Panel Tariffs

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testified today at a Senate hearing on "Funding Priorities of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative." In this context, she answered some substantive trade policy questions. Here are a few of her responses: China Phase One Enforcement Senator Moran: Ambassador,
Simon Lester 28 Apr 2021 10 min read

The AfCFTA Secretariat Is Hiring

Over the last four years, U.S. trade policy has kept me so busy that I've missed some important developments around the world, such as the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. I see from my friend Petina Gappah that the AfCFTA Secretariat is now hiring:
Simon Lester 28 Apr 2021 1 min read

Webinar on Institutionalising Global Challenges: A Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council

From City Law School in London (Thursday, 29 April 2021, 17:00 – 18:30, register here): The EU’s proposed EU-US Joint Agenda for Global Change includes a Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council, proposing a loose institutionalisation of key global challenges currently not well covered or dealt with by, for
Simon Lester 28 Apr 2021 1 min read

Remembering Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza

We are sad to report that Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza has passed away. Jorge Castro of the WTO prepared the following note of remembrance: Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza (Cumaná, Venezuela, 28 March 1948 – Geneva, Switzerland, 25 April 2021) Miguel Rodríguez had a distinguished career in international trade. He was Venezuela's
Simon Lester 26 Apr 2021 1 min read

Where Will Biden's USTR Trade Policy Team Take U.S. Trade Policy?

Over the past few days, we have had some new announcements about staffing at USTR, and the Biden administration trade policy team is almost complete now. There are still the important Deputy USTR in Geneva and Chief Agriculture Negotiator positions to fill (as well as some other USTR and possibly
Simon Lester 21 Apr 2021 5 min read

Tim Meyer Responds on Exceptions and "Mixed Motives"

This is a response from Tim Meyer to my post on his new article Many thanks to Simon for his thoughtful take on my new article, A Political Theory of Legal Exceptions, as well as the opportunity to respond. Simon and I do agree on a lot. Most notably, we
Simon Lester 20 Apr 2021 2 min read

Tim Meyer on Exceptions and "Mixed Motives"

My friend Tim Meyer has a new paper entitled "A Political Theory of Legal Exceptions." Back before the pandemic, Tim and I and a few others submitted a proposal for a SIEL 2020 panel entitled "Making Space for Public Policy in International Economic Law Agreements: The Role
Simon Lester 18 Apr 2021 8 min read

In Dubio Mitius - 15 years later

Nothing gets a public international lawyer more stirred up than a maxim of interpretation, and few maxims hit a nerve more readily than "in dubio mitius". Thanks to Petros Mavroidis' recent (and highly recommended) post on transnational subsidies, I found myself squandering a Saturday - when I
Jesse Kreier 17 Apr 2021 1 min read

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Economic and National Security Provisions in U.S. Trade Agreements

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post cautioning everyone to "Beware the 'Securitization' of Trade Policy." So far, however, it looks like my post has been a big failure, as many people seem to be throwing caution to the wind, and instead of being wary
03 Nov 2025 4 min read

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

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