International Trade Law Commons^™

Embracing Non-Icsid Investment Arbitration? The Chinese Perspective, Meng Chen

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article introduces and examines Chinese arbitration institutions’ recent movements to expand non-ICSID investment arbitration services, which could potentially contravene existing relevant Chinese laws and judicial practice, and it explores the prospects for non-ICSID investment arbitration in China. The article first compares ICSID and non-ICSID investment arbitration to determine the differences between them and their respective selling points for stakeholders in investment disputes. Next, the article examines the diverse mechanisms involved and highlights the different rules that govern non-ICSID arbitration, including the rules established by Chinese arbitration institutions in recent years. The article then further analyzes the obstacles in existing …

Securing The Nation Or Entrenching The Board? The Evolution Of Cfius Review Of Corporate Acquisitions, Amy Deen Westbrook

Marquette Law Review

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews transactions based on national security concerns, has recently become critical to the operation of the U.S. economy. In March of 2018, CFIUS review led to the prohibition of Broadcom Limited’s acquisition of Qualcomm Corp., which would have been the largest technology merger in history. In August of 2018, CFIUS was dramatically expanded with the enactment of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). Major transactions must now reckon with the uncertainties of CFIUS review.

Created over thirty years ago as a reporting and monitoring committee, …

Analyzing The Trump Administration's International Trade Strategy, Rachel Brewster

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Trade And The Separation Of Powers, Timothy Meyer, Ganesh Sitaraman

Faculty Scholarship

There are two paradigms through which to view trade law and policy within the American constitutional system. One paradigm sees trade law and policy as quintessentially about domestic economic policy. Institutionally, under the domestic economics paradigm, trade law falls within the province of Congress, which has legion Article I powers over commercial matters. The second paradigm sees trade law as fundamentally about America’s relationship with foreign countries. Institutionally, under the foreign affairs paradigm, trade law is the province of the President, who speaks for the United States in foreign affairs. While both paradigms have operated throughout American history, the domestic …

Developing Countries And International Economic Law: The Case Of Burma, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

Roughly a quarter of a century ago, developing countries, in large numbers, signed on to the 1994 revision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade3 ("GKTT 1994") and to membership in its umbrella institution, the World Trade Organization ("WTO"). Notwithstanding their erstwhile reluctance to do business with and compete against developed countries that in many instances had been colonial oppressors, they took on substantial obligations under the WTO agreements. Developing countries did so, in part, because they feared being left behind economically in a world where free trade prospered.

Global Regulation Of Corporate Conduct: Effective Pursuit Of A Slave-Free Supply Chain, Roza Pati

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

European Decision Could Have Killed Investment Treaties, Affecting Arbitration And Investments, Peter B. Rutledge, Katherine M. Larsen, Amanda W. Newton

Popular Media

A dramatic upheaval in investor-state arbitration last year recently led to the apparent demise of investment treaties throughout Europe and could have broad implications for both international arbitration and foreign investments in the European Union. In May 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union found in Achmea v. Slovak Republic that the bilateral investment treaty between the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic (a so-called intra-EU BIT) contained an arbitration clause that was incompatible with European law.

Lawyers Should Keep Their Eyes On Cuba Sanctions Cases, Peter B. Rutledge, Katherine M. Larsen, Miles S. Porter

Popular Media

A dramatic change in the executive branch position on Cuban sanctions recently led to a wave of litigation in the federal courts and could have broad implications for entities that conduct business in or with Cuba. In April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Title III of the Helms-Burton Act would no longer be suspended, thereby allowing U.S. nationals to file lawsuits against any individual or entity that “traffics” in property expropriated by the Cuban government.

Greening The Wto: Ega, Tariff Concessions And Policy Likeness, Petros C. Mavroidis, Damien J. Neven

Faculty Scholarship

This paper considers the APEC and EGA agreements which grant tariff concession through HS classifications beyond the six digit level ("ex outs") in favour of "green" goods and discuss how these initiatives fit into the WTO legal regime. Even if the practical significance of the APEC agreement should not be overestimated as it involves modest tariff concessions over a subset of goods which are not heavily traded, these agreements involve a paradigm shift to the extent that they use tariffs concessions negotiated on a plurilateral basis as a policy instrument to meet public policy concern, instead of making market access …

Open Plurilateral Agreements, International Regulatory Cooperation And The Wto, Charles F. Sabel, Bernard Hoekman

Faculty Scholarship

Sustained high growth in many developing countries (‘the rise of the rest’) combined with long-standing WTO working practices hampers the ability of the WTO to perform its routine functions and paralyzes efforts to adapt to new circumstances. Preferential trade agreements have taken up some of the slack in addressing differences in domestic regulation of product safety, environmental and social conditions, but are exclusionary and inefficient from a global perspective. In this paper, we argue that a new type of agreement based on open plurilateral cooperation offers better prospects for groups of countries to explore and develop their potential common interests …

A Higher Authority: Canada’S Cannabis Legalization In The Context Of International Law, Antonia Eliason, Robert Howse

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Article provides an overview of some of the key terms and provisions of Canada’s Cannabis Act. Part II looks at the Cannabis Act in the context of the International Drug Conventions, examining how the various convention provisions might apply, looking first at the Single Convention and then at the 1988 Convention and how that convention fits with Canadian constitutional provisions. Part III focuses on the international human rights framework and how the Cannabis Act might be viewed as compatible with international human rights law even where incompatible with the International Drug Conventions. This Part also offers …

Nationalizing Trips: An Examination Through Exceptions, 18 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 285 (2019), Evan Tallmadge

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

What should not be patentable? The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”) codifies certain categories of subject matter that nations can exclude from patent protection. This Article examines how nations have interpreted these exclusions through an analysis of their national manuals of patent examining procedure and more importantly what explicit exceptions to patentability these countries have listed. The Article proceeds to analyze both the similarities and differences in approaches towards exclusions that attempt to ban the same subject matter from patentability and differences in what countries have chosen to bar from patenting. The Article concludes with an …

2018 International Trade Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Jamie D. Underwood

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modern-Day Pirates: Why Domestic Parent Corporations Should Be Liable Under The Alien Tort Statute For Violations Of Workers' Rights Within Global Supply Chains, Erin Downey

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forgotten Statutes: Trade Law's Domestic (Re)Turn, Kathleen Claussen

Articles

Since the first half of the twentieth century, the U.S. Congress has increasingly delegated its authority over tariffs to the U.S. president. Some of these statutes permit private actors to petition for tariff relief. Some also permit the president to initiate an investigation and subsequently to take trade-related or other action when certain criteria are met. Since the 1990s, however, a robust multilateral trading system has required the United States and others to resolve disputes over trade measures in Geneva, rather than through unilateral policy steps under these tariff authorities. In a stark departure from this movement away from unilateral …

From Venetian Glass To Contemporary Intellectual Property: Revisiting Tailored Patent Regimes (Book Review), Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

This piece reviews Stefania Fusco's “Murano Glass Vase" and "Lessons from the Past." In Murano Glass Vase, Fusco recounts the history of the glassmaking industry in Venice, framing it as the natural experiment from which the patent system sprang into the world. Fusco emphasizes the mix of exclusionary rights and trade secrecy that formed the backbone of Venetian innovation policy against the backdrop of a heavily regulated and protectionist economy. In “Lessons from the Past,” Fusco draws on original research performed at the Venetian State Archives to further the Murano narrative by looking at how the Venetian government fueled an …

The Role Of Empirical Research And Dispute System Design In Proposing And Developing International Treaties: A Case Study Of The Singapore Convention On Mediation, S. I. Strong

Faculty Articles

Although specialists in international law are well-versed with the formalities associated with negotiating an international treaty, little if anything is known or written about how national and international actors decide to develop and pursue particular proposals for new international instruments. Indeed, the initial process of · determining which ideas to develop is almost entirely hidden from public view, even though these choices are critical to international law and policy, "since whoever controls the agenda has control over the scope of the governance system and its ability to change over time."

This Article seeks to provide insights into the "black box" …

Global Networks And The Legal Profession, Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

The importance of networks and the power of exponential growth within networks have become much more apparent to the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Article addresses the topic of global legal profession networks. The introductory section provides information about our global economy and society that helps explain why global legal profession networks are valuable. It argues that global networks are beneficial for clients, lawyers, and other legal services stakeholders.

After introducing some of the scientific literature about networks in general and legal profession networks specifically, Section II identifies ways in which lawyers participate in global legal …

Impacts Of Investment Treaties On Health And Human Rights, Gus Van Harten

Articles & Book Chapters

While investment treaties could help protect health and promote human rights, they are rather often used as a means to discourage governments from taking action. The treaties allow foreign investors to initiate investor-state dispute settlement (or ISDS) proceedings against states for their legislative, executive, administrative, and judicial decisions at any level. Thus, they provide a powerful tool for “foreign” investors to frustrate state action in virtually any area, including health and human rights. This article describes how ISDS provisions have impacted health-related decision- making by states and, in so doing, weakened their abilities to fulfill their human rights obligations.

The New Social Contracts In International Supply Chains, David Snyder

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Armored Plating And Aluminum Foil Are Not Like Products: Consequences Of The United States' Overbroad Interpretation Of Article Xxi Of The Gatt, Anthony Nardi

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Singapore Convention Presents An Opportunity For Georgia In Mediation, Peter B. Rutledge, Katherine M. Larsen

Popular Media

On Dec. 20, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Singapore Convention. The Singapore Convention ensures that a mediation settlement reached by parties will be binding and enforceable in accordance with a streamlined procedure. The convention will compel contracting states to recognize international mediation settlement agreements in commercial disputes. On Aug. 7, the opening day of the convention, a record 46 nations signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation, including the United States.

The Singapore Convention presents a unique opportunity for Georgia to become a forum for hospitable mediation. Much like it adopted an international arbitration code, the state could …

Reimagining Trade Agreements For Workers: Lessons From The Usmca, Alvaro Santos

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A backlash against the post-Cold War order of liberal globalization has taken hold in the rich North Atlantic countries. Concerns about wages, working conditions, and economic opportunity are central to the critique of international trade agreements of the last three decades. While labor rights have progressively been included in trade agreements, they have done little to reshape workers’ well-being and workplace conditions. The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) may signal a pivot to a new model requiring reforms of domestic labor law and other issues important to workers. However, there is much more to be done to rebalance the power …

Reflecting On Straight Talk On Trade, Alvaro Santos

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A question that motivates this essay is: What insights can we offer from legal scholarship that Dani Rodrik could take on board and put to good use?

Rodrik is an economist, but he might as well have been a lawyer in the way he builds his argument and anticipates counterarguments. I mean that as a compliment. As a bonus, he delivers the punch line with humor and grace. In his book I recognized several of the many contributions Rodrik has made: his argument for policy space and revitalization of industrial policy, the globalization trilemma, the idea and process of growth …

World Trade And Investment Law In A Time Of Crisis: Distribution, Development And Social Protection, David M. Trubek, Alvaro Santos, Chantal Thomas

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

World trade and investment law is in crisis: new and progressive ideas are needed. Rules that facilitated globalization and supported global economic growth are being challenged. A system of global governance that once seemed secure is now at risk as the US ignores the rules while developing countries struggle to escape restrictions. Some want to tear global institutions and agreements down while others try desperately to maintain the status quo. Rejecting both options, we convened a group of trade and investment law experts from 10 countries South and North who have proposed ideas for a new world trade and investment …

Data Exclusivities In The Age Of Big Data, Biologics, And Plurilaterals, Peter K. Yu

Texas A&M Law Review

The past decade has seen many new developments impacting the intellectual property system. The introduction of big data analytics has transformed the fields of biotechnology and bioinformatics while ushering in major advances in drug development, clinical practices, and medical financing. The arrival of biologics and personalized medicines has also revolutionized the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, the emergence of bilateral, regional, and plurilateral trade agreements have raised serious, and at times difficult, questions concerning the evolution of domestic and international intellectual property standards.

One topic linking all three developments together concerns the establishment of international standards to protect clinical …

Island Invasion: The Silent Crisis In Hawaii, Sophia Janssen

Pomona Senior Theses

Keeping out invasive species may, upon first review, seem like a trivial environmental cry from ecologists and deep environmentalists; a belated wish to return to an undeveloped world where nature was pristine. However invasive species create problems that impact all of us and can have far more severe consequences than changing a stunning landscape. These problems are heightened in islands like Hawaii, where the fragile ecosystems have developed over centuries of evolution and adaptation. The introduction of a disease-carrying mosquito can put the people of Hawaii at risk to many vector-born illnesses and create an epidemic, taking human life. The …

The New Frontier For Labor In Trade Agreements, Alvaro Santos

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the spring of 2015, I took my students of international trade law to visit the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. It was a two-day trip, organized around lectures and discussions with staff from different divisions of the organization, the Advisory Centre of WTO Law and the permanent missions of two countries. None of my students had been there before, and even though I had taught international trade law for several years, it was also my first time visiting the headquarters of the organization. We were excited and curious. The building looked big and majestic. The back side opened …

Corporations As Semi-States, Jay Butler

Faculty Publications

When Ebola came to West Africa in 2014, Liberia could not cope. The State’s already fragile public health infrastructure was largely ineffective in responding to the illness and preventing its spread. And, the World Health Organization’s support was slow and stilted. By contrast, Firestone, a tire company that operates a vast rubber plantation in Liberia and runs its own hospital for 80,000 employees, family dependents, and persons in neighboring localities, responded to the virus much more effectively.

This Article uses Firestone’s Ebola response as an entry point to study a phenomenon too frequently overlooked. Many for-profit firms that maintain operations …

Helping David Fight Goliath: Preserving The Wto In The Trump Era, Michael Goodyear

Articles & Chapters

The Trump presidency and other reactionary conservative governments present an immensely powerful danger to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is largely built on Members’ willingness to comply with its rules, and the current Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) is too weak to deter an avowed enemy of the WTO, such as President Trump. This poor enforcement system particularly hurts developing countries, which lack the power under the DSU to effectively deter economic giants like the United States.

The recent Doha Round was supposed to create a more effective enforcement mechanism under the DSU, but it fell apart before any …