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Guest Post: Initial Thoughts on the IEEPA Tariff Rulings

This is a guest post by Perry Bechky, a partner at Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP and a visiting scholar at Seattle University School of Law. On Wednesday and Thursday, two courts ruled that President Trump lacked the statutory authority under IEEPA to impose tariffs.  The cases are VOS Selections
Simon Lester 01 Jun 2025 3 min read

Will the Trump Administration Revisit ISDS?

Back during Joe Biden's presidency, there were some hints that the Biden administration might be willing to push for the removal of ISDS from existing trade agreements and investment treaties. Members of Congress pressed then-U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai on this issue on a couple occasions, including
Simon Lester 01 Jun 2025 2 min read

Initial thoughts on V.O.S. Selections v. U.S. (Court of International Trade per curiam, 5/28/25)

In a clear and decisive opinion, the CIT has struck down as unlawful the tariffs imposed by President Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (i) worldwide to “retaliate” for purported balance of trade reasons against alleged trade barriers imposed by other states, and (ii) on Canada, Mexico,
Trachtman 29 May 2025 2 min read

CIT grants IEEPA Plaintiffs' MSJ; Vacates and permanently enjoins all IEEPA tariffs

A unanimous panel (Katzmann, Reif, Restani) of the Court of International Trade has granted Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and injunctive relief in the V.O.S. Selections et al. and State of Oregon et al. challenges to all three sets of President Trump's IEEPA tariffs (worldwide/
Meredith Kolsky Lewis 28 May 2025 2 min read

Fighting the Trade Narratives: "Unfettered" Liberalization and "Reckless and Dogmatic" Free Trade

This is my second post about the questions for the record with U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer from his April 8 Senate Finance Committee testimony. Senator Warren (D-MA) asked this question: In the last recession, 700,000 American workers lost their jobs each month. While the President has paused
Simon Lester 26 May 2025 3 min read

A Few Questions and Answers (and Then More Questions) about Trump's Trade Deals

As part of the questions for the record for U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer after he testified before the Senate Finance Committee on April 8, there was an interesting exchange between Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Greer related to any trade deals resulting from the IEEPA "reciprocal"
Simon Lester 23 May 2025 3 min read

The USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism: What Do Workers Expect?

I want to thank Kathleen Claussen for succinctly summarizing last week’s Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel. Many of us missed the panel discussion while participating in the fantastic ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group Biennial Conference (my kudos to the organizers). Professor Claussen points out the Mexican government’
Desiree LeClercq 19 May 2025 6 min read

Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel Hears Arguments in Mexico

On May 15 and 16, the second panel convened under the USMCA/TMEC/CUSMA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) held a hearing in Mexico to review the arguments of Mexico and the United States concerning worker rights at Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. (MEX-USA-2024-31A-01).  This panel proceeding
Kathleen Claussen 18 May 2025 7 min read

Is the U.S. Pulling Back on Its Hormone-Treated Beef Demands?

In my recent post about the U.S.-UK trade deal, I noted the discussion of hormone-treated beef at the White House press conference, including a response by U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer to a reporter's question. I did not take his answer, or the General Terms
Simon Lester 18 May 2025 6 min read

ADR in the WTO

With the Appellate Body appointments process still blocked, people have been looking for alternative approaches in WTO dispute settlement. The MPIA is one alternative. With Paraguay recently joining, the MPIA is now up to 28 parties (including the EU-27). And as noted here, the MPIA is about to hear its
Simon Lester 15 May 2025 1 min read

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Is Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act a Fall-Back Option for Trump to Impose Tariffs?

Without IEEPA authority, as we have all discussed, where there is a will, there is a way. In all likelihood, this way involves the expanded use of other statutory authorities, such as Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. In
07 Nov 2025 4 min read

Roundup of IEEPA Hearing Commentary

I listened to today's Supreme Court hearing on the IEEPA tariff cases, but it was clear to me that I am not well-positioned to offer good insights on how the Court might rule. (The transcript is here if anyone wants to give this kind of tea leaf reading a shot themselves).
05 Nov 2025 8 min read

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

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