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Joost Pauwelyn on Politics and Law in the World Trading System

Joost has a new paper for the Hinrich Foundation that, he says, applies the framework of his 2005 Transformation of World Trade piece to "today's moribund WTO."
Simon Lester 05 Feb 2026 5 min read

Peter Harrell on "Upending World Trade"

Peter Harrell, formerly of the Biden administration and now at Georgetown Law, has a new Foreign Affairs piece called "The Case for Upending World Trade: How Trump’s Vision Echoes America’s Traditional Approach." In the piece, Peter makes several points that I want to respond to.
Simon Lester 03 Feb 2026 4 min read

Jamieson Greer on the 30 Year Aberration in U.S. Trade Policy

When he was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer talked a bit about U.S. trade policy history and described a recent period during which, in his view, U.S. trade policy shifted away from tariffs/protectionism and towards free trade.
Simon Lester 29 Jan 2026 6 min read

Why Haven't the Tariffs Had More Impact on the Economy?

Dan Drezner recently noted the following in relation to why the Trump tariffs haven't had a more negative impact on the U.S. economy: What about the overall effect of Trump’s tariffs on the U.S. economy? As to that question, a separate Ana Swanson story provides
Simon Lester 27 Jan 2026 2 min read

Is this the end of MFN as we know it? The EU submission on WTO reform and the meaning of development

With the release of the EU submission on WTO reform, it has become clear that the MFN principle’s central role within the WTO architecture is under challenge. As a keystone, it risks the entire bridge falling. Even if the foundations are retained but deemed outdated or unusable, and a
Mona Paulsen 23 Jan 2026 3 min read

The EU on Policy Space

In the EU submission on WTO Reform that I mentioned yesterday, there was this suggestion on "policy space": In the context of overall strengthening of rules, there should be openness to examine targeted adjustments for policy space. A balance needs to be found between the effectiveness of the
Simon Lester 23 Jan 2026 3 min read

Asking China To Liberalize More at the WTO

Back in 2018, I wrote a piece with my colleague Huan Zhu arguing that China had become much wealthier since it joined the WTO, and therefore should take on greater liberalization commitments: With greater wealth comes greater responsibility. Even if it continues to maintain its “developing” status, as China’s
Simon Lester 22 Jan 2026 4 min read

Guest Post: President Trump Cannot Legally Impose Tariffs Using Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974

If the Supreme Court strikes down nonreciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Trump Administration reportedly plans to re-impose some of the tariffs by citing authorities in other laws.
Simon Lester 21 Jan 2026 3 min read

Can "Geopolitical" Tariffs Be Dealt With through Trade Deals?

Last Friday, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was asked about Trump's initial suggestion of tariffs related to the goal of taking over Greenland
Simon Lester 20 Jan 2026 4 min read

Call for Submissions: Trade, Law and Development

This is from the editors of the Trade, Law and Development journal: The Board of Editors of TL&D is pleased to invite original, unpublished manuscripts for publication in the General Issue of the Journal (Vol. XVII, No. 2) in the form of ‘Articles’, ‘Notes’, ‘Comments’ and ‘Book Reviews’
Simon Lester 18 Jan 2026 1 min read

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Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs

Last month, USTR made a determination in its Section 301 investigation into "Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor."
10 Jul 2026 5 min read

How Should the EU Get Tough with China? Unilateral Action vs. WTO Complaints

I've seen several recent calls for the EU to get tougher in its economic relations with China, along with arguments that it has been too slow to act against the Chinese economic threat.
06 Jul 2026 4 min read

Trump Administration Decides Not To Extend USMCA for Another Term: What Does That Mean Exactly?

Today, as part of the first joint review of the USMCA, the three governments held a virtual meeting.
01 Jul 2026 4 min read

Competing Views of Sovereignty: The Haves vs. The Have Nots in AI (and Steel)

It's interesting to watch how political leaders craft narratives around economic competition that reflect their own country's strengths and weaknesses.
29 Jun 2026 4 min read

A law of many meanings: Exchange Actions under the GATT and IMF

Earlier this week, Simon Lester posted about the EU’s concerns with the undervaluation of the Chinese currency. He situated the recent demands for trade restrictions against a longstanding debate about the function of GATT Article XV:4.
25 Jun 2026 8 min read

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