International Economic Law and Policy

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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 Even if the foundations are retained but deemed outdated or unusable, and

4. 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

5. 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