International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Domestic Trade Powers

10 posts

What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Trade Deal

There is widespread speculation about trade agreements that may be coming in the next 10 days (or soon after), including their form and what they might contain. What should we expect? The most reliable rumors are that some agreements have been drafted and are likely to be announced by the

The U.S.-Peru FTA Goes to Missouri

It’s not every day that a trade agreement finds its way into U.S. courts – especially not as a basis to dismiss a tort claim in Missouri. Tomorrow, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear Reid v. Doe Run Resources Corp. In a rather

First Rapid Response Labor Panel Begins Work under USMCA

Many readers will know that the United States called for the very first panel under the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) at the end of August. One month in, the panel has been busy. This post briefly summarizes the panel’s work so far and makes a few preliminary

The New U.S.-Taiwan Trade Agreement and Its Approval

This post is by Kathleen Claussen & Timothy Meyer. It is cross-posted on Lawfare. On June 1, the United States and Taiwan signed a new trade deal. The agreement, which spans eight chapters and 75 pages in the English version, creates obligations for both parties to enhance trade facilitation, adopt

What is a Free Trade Agreement, Anyway?

This is the second of two posts on trade agreements in the news over the last ten days. During the holidays, Treasury and the IRS confirmed what many had already been discussing since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act in November: that they might take an expansive definition of

The President’s (and USTR’s) Trade Agreement Authority: From Fisheries to IPEF

This is a post by Kathleen Claussen and Tim Meyer. It is cross-posted on Lawfare. Over the last few years, separation-of-trade-law-powers questions have grown in importance. We know the basics: according to the Constitution, the regulation of commerce with foreign nations is expressly and unmistakably a congressional prerogative. Treaty-making, on

Mini-Deals: A First Look at the World of Trade Executive Agreements

With the deadlines now having passed for moving the UK and Kenya agreements through the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) process, there has been some talk about pursuing instead more “skinny” or “mini”-deals especially given that the prospects of renewing TPA remain in doubt. Even apart from TPA, additional

Congressional / Executive Power over Trade and the USMCA Sunset Clause

This is from Jennifer Hillman: Before it is too late, Congress should insist on including a number of items in the implementing legislation or on essential changes to the May 30, 2019, draft Statement of Administrative Action (SAA). Indeed, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s transmittal letter for the

The CIT Opinion in the Section 232 Constitutionality Case

The opinion is here. The court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that Section 232 is unconstitutional. Here is a key part of the reasoning: Most importantly for the challenge here, in Algonquin, the Supreme Court found that section 232 “easily” met the intelligible principle standard because [i]t establishes clear

CIT Hearing on the Constitutionality of Section 232

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade held a hearing on the constitutional challenge to Section 232 (background on the complaint is here). The full transcript is here. There were lots of interesting exchanges. Here are a few snippets: HON. GARY S. KATZMANN: Can I -- Mr. Morrison,