This is a comment of mine, printed in the Financial Post on 15 December 2020, with some recommendations for 2021 for those ministers in the Trudeau government in charge of Canadian trade policy, including the PM himself.
Author Archives: Lawrence Herman
Cultural Property – Controlling Illicit Trade
This article was done by me and Alexander Herman, Institute of Art and Law, London, U.K., in commemoration of the 50th anniversary, in November 2020, of the groundbreaking UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export & Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
Canadian Trade Laws – Need for More Surgical Use
This memo issued by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) looks at certain American trade laws and whether Canada could use some of these US models more effectively, to the benefit of open markets and Canadian commercial interests, while sticking to WTO rules.
Seven Trade Moves to Watch For Under Joe Biden
This is a Globe and Mail (Toronto) column, 12 November 2020, reviewing some of the key trade policy issues likely to percolate to the surface as between Canada and the US under Joe Biden’s presidency.
Buy American Challenges
This is a short piece issued by the C. D. Howe Institute, Toronto, regarding the Buy American policies of president-elect Biden and the potential challenges these kind of preference have for Canadian suppliers to the American procurement market.
C D Howe Inst Memo – Joe Biden’s Buy American Agenda
Restoring Order to World Trade
Huawei & Canadian National Security
No Peace in the Trade Valley
Peace in the Trade Valley-FP Comment 13 Aug 2020
This is a comment in the Financial Post, 13 August 2020, explaining how privately-driven trade disputes (like dumping and subsidy complaints) will continue even if Washington and Beijing conclude some kind of trade armistice. The WTO Agreement plus countless investment treaties worldwide allow private parties to bring forward trade and investment complaints, even if governments conclude some kind of armistice.
Investment Disputes in a Post-Pandemic World
This article is a summary of the state of investment disputes under the so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) systems in various treaties to which Canada is party. It looks at current win-loss record for Canada and deals with the phase out of NAFTA investment disputes under the new Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement or CUSMA. While these Canada-US arbitrations are being phased out, ISDS regimes continue under a wide number of Canadian agreement, of considerable importance to Canadian investors in countries where the rule of law is insecure or arbitrary.
Future of the World Trade Organization
Some thoughts of mine in a commentary published by the Financial Post on May 19, 2020, suggesting a new post-pandemic agenda for the WTO, giving it a new item to tackle and helping to get it out of its current political torpor, made more difficult by the Trump administration’s attacks on the Organization.