International Trade Law

Catalog description

The international trading system is going through a tempestuous period, largely due to U.S. policies that disregard many pre-existing international legal commitments. The economic rise of China, with its extensive industrial policies and numerous state-owned enterprises, has also posed substantial challenges for the trading system. This course will survey current developments in national and international trade law. Part of the course will focus on U.S. domestic law and trade practice, including the separation of powers between the Congress and the President relating to trade, recent tariff wars, U.S. law regarding "unfair" trade practices such as dumping and foreign subsidization, and trade measures taken for "national security" reasons. The remainder of the course will focus on the law and policy of modern international trade agreements, including the treaty network of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other important bilateral and plurilateral arrangements. Among other things, we will examine the relationship between international and domestic law, international enforcement and dispute settlement, potential tensions between international trade law and domestic regulation, and the challenges of integrating China into international trade agreements that were originally designed to orchestrate cooperation among market economies. We will also discuss the current predicament of the WTO, and the proposals advanced to resolve the crisis of multilateralism. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance and final exam.