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How to Game the MPIA, or, How to Avoid Being Taken Advantage of in the MPIA

The newly-established Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (“MPIA”) contains an interesting provision in para 18 of its “Agreed Procedures”: “At any time during the arbitration, the appellant, or other appellant, may withdraw its appeal, or other appeal, by notifying the arbitrators. This notification shall also be notified to the panel
Henry Gao 20 Jun 2020 3 min read

The WTO Force Is Everywhere!

This is what Alan Beattie seems to argue (“WTO Still Has Ability to Affect Rulings and Regulation Elsewhere”). He stated that: “WTO laws and rulings are regularly cited in investment tribunals, bilateral trade disputes and even the European Court of Justice. Despite its reservations about WTO dispute settlement, for example,
Sungjoon Cho 18 Jun 2020 1 min read

Enforcement in the China Phase One Deal

In today's Senate Finance Committee hearing on trade policy, Senator Wyden and Ambassador Lighthizer had this exchange (1:01:55): Wyden: Let's go on then to another key enforcement issue, and that's China Phase One. The first stage of dispute resolution, there is basically
Simon Lester 17 Jun 2020 2 min read

No ISDS in U.S. - UK FTA?

Here's a question from Congressman Lloyd Doggett to Ambassador Lighthizer at today's Ways and Means Committee hearing: Doggett: Do you envision in the agreements that you're currently negotiating to maintain the progress that we made in the USMCA with regard to dispute resolution so
Simon Lester 17 Jun 2020 1 min read

Guest Post: The European Commission attempts to rein in BRI subsidies

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Victor Crochet: On 15 June 2020, in Regulation 2020/776, the European Commission decided to countervail financial contributions granted to an Egyptian entity by Chinese public bodies. To reach this conclusion, the Commission explained that the government of the exporting country, in
Simon Lester 16 Jun 2020 4 min read

Who's Going To Pay For Supporting The MPIA?

Paragraph 7 of the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement Pursuant to Article 25 of the DSU says: The participating Members envisage that appeal arbitrators will be provided with appropriate administrative and legal support, which will offer the necessary guarantees of quality and independence, given the nature of the responsibilities involved.
Simon Lester 15 Jun 2020 2 min read

Webinar — USMCA’s Entry into Force: Prospects and Challenges for North American Trade

This is from the Baker Institute for Public Policy (link here): Although most observers agree that the renegotiation process of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was more complicated than it had to be and that the final text is less than perfect, at the end of the day
Simon Lester 09 Jun 2020 1 min read

The Last Appellate Body Report (For Now)

The Appellate Body circulated its report in the Australia - Plain Packaging case today. I've only just started reading, but this passage jumped out at me: 6.48. The sheer volume of the appellants' claims under Article 11 of the DSU in these appellate proceedings is unprecedented.
Simon Lester 09 Jun 2020 2 min read

What Would a Joe Biden Trade Policy Look Like?

It's hard to know when we will get back to the policy (or, at the least, political) debates that are part of U.S. presidential campaigns. We were distracted by a pandemic, and then by protests against systemic racism and related behavior by police, so there hasn'
Simon Lester 09 Jun 2020 1 min read

The First MPIA Appeals?

The WTO has just posted three sets of agreed procedures for arbitration under DSU Article 25, that is to say, procedures for appeals through the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). The cases involved are Canada - Sale of Wine (DS537), Costa Rica - Avocados (DS524), and Canada - Aircraft
Simon Lester 03 Jun 2020 1 min read

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Is Foreign Antitrust Enforcement "Discriminatory" and "Anti-American"?

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing in December on "Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses." There was a lot of talk at the hearing about how foreign regulations and regulators "discriminate" against American companies.
05 Jan 2026 5 min read

Pennsylvania Court Finds Mexican Government Guilty of "Discrimination" Due To Its Subsidies

I'm always interested in how courts apply the concept of "discrimination" in the context of international trade, so I've been eagerly awaiting a Pennsylvania court decision in a case against Mexico.
12 Dec 2025 8 min read

Economic Security in Trade Agreements: My Response to Geoff Gertz

Thanks to Geoff for laying out his vision of why economic security should be in trade agreements and how to bring it in. It won't surprise anyone to hear I have some additional comments and questions in response!
04 Dec 2025 10 min read

Guest Post: The Case for Bringing Economic Security Priorities into U.S. Trade Agreements, Part II

This is a guest post from Geoffrey Gertz of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), responding to my post on Economic and National Security Provisions in U.S. Trade Agreements An earlier post made the case for why the United States should bring economic security commitments into trade
01 Dec 2025 3 min read

Guest Post: The Case for Bringing Economic Security Priorities into U.S. Trade Agreements, Part I

Thanks to Simon for kickstarting a debate on the prospect of bringing economic security provisions into trade agreements, and for allowing me to respond here.
26 Nov 2025 4 min read

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