International Economic Law and Policy

1. Why Not Use the Phase One Deal's Enforcement Mechanism?

   On Friday, USTR initiated a Section 301 investigation of "China’s implementation of the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China ('Phase One Agreement')." According to USTR, "

2. International law aspects of the U.S.-Australia critical mineral and rare earth deal

   Upon reading the US-AUS framework concerning the financing of rare earth mining. While there is very little to go on, I wanted to share some thoughts that connect current assessments with what we know about international investment law and existing institutional development.

   The Framework commits $1 billion in financing projects

3. Grossman and Sykes on Reciprocity in U.S. Trade Relations

   In a new paper entitled "Commandeering the Customs: An Economic and Legal Perspective on the President’s 'Emergency' Imposition of 'Reciprocal Tariffs'," professors Gene Grossman and Alan Sykes push back on the idea that there is a lack of reciprocity in U.S.

4. How Should the U.S. Respond To China's Non-Market Practices?

   In an interview last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talked about the Trump administration's response to China's non-market practices. Part of this response, as he presents it, has been for the U.S. to pursue a specific version of state-led industrial policy as a defensive measure.

5. Checking In On the Trump Administration's Drug Price Control Plans

   Following up on two previous posts I did on this issue, let's see how the Trump administration's plan to push drug prices in the U.S. down while pushing drug prices in other countries up is going.

   At the end of September, Trump announced "the