International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Trade and Environment

117 posts

Guest Post: Threat-Based Trade Remedies in the EU: Increasing Use Amid Urgent Climate Objectives

This is a guest post from Florin D. Dascalescu, Senior legal counsel at the European Investment Fund (EIF) Introduction This post is based on my recent article published in the Journal of World Trade (JWT),[i] which examines several legal concepts by using as an example the EU anti-subsidy (AS)

U.S. Leadership on Trade and Climate Policy

In a recent Foreign Affairs piece entitled "The Case for a Clean Energy Marshall Plan," Brian Deese -- the Director of the White House National Economic Council from 2021 to 2023 and a current economic adviser to Kamala Harris -- sets out a vision for how a Harris

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

Is the Foreign Pollution Fee Bill WTO-Compliant?

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced the Foreign Pollution Fee bill (S.3198), which would impose a fee on certain carbon-intense imports. A FAQ document for the bill explains how this would work: The legislation imposes a fee on products imported into the U.S. that

Political Compromise and Reducing Carbon Emissions

In a new paper, law prof Tim Meyer offers a defense of combining (1) discriminatory regulations such as local content requirements with (2) subsidies to reduce carbon emissions. In the abstract of the paper, he says: Second, like all policies, green trade policies usually pursue multiple objectives. The fact that

How To Design a Subsidy Rule Carveout for Carbon Reduction Measures

Jennifer Hillman and Inu Manak have a new paper out called "Rethinking International Rules on Subsidies." In a nutshell, they argue that all the new subsidies being thrown around are likely to create difficulties in international economic relations, and some revised rules might help with that. One key

Would a U.S. Carbon Border Tax Pressure Other Countries To Reduce Emissions, or Just Lead To Retaliation?

A recent Washington Post article describes a new piece of U.S. legislation that could eventually lead to the imposition of a carbon border tax: In a rare example of a bipartisan climate policy, momentum is growing on Capitol Hill for a plan to tax imports from China and other

Katherine Tai on the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum

At an EXIM bank event yesterday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the following about the proposed Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum: And the concept would be for the US and the EU to join our markets, and to use access to our markets to leverage fair

Electric Vehicle Tax Credits and Non-Discrimination under the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that was recently passed by the Senate has a complex set of assembly and content requirements for its electric vehicle (EV) tax credits. This post offers a few thoughts on domestic content requirements as a matter of policy, possible U.S. justifications under WTO law

Can Tariffs Help Bring Down Carbon Emissions? Maybe, But Probably Not Under Current Proposals

Recently, I came across two arguments for the U.S. and EU to use tariffs as penalties designed to bring down carbon emissions: * Senator Sheldon Whitehouse suggested that "laggards and high polluting countries [will be] forced to step up and comply by virtue of the economic pressure on them