LAWRENCE L HERMAN - HERMAN & ASSOCIATES | Counsel on international trade, investment and public policy

Historic Shifts in Global Trade

Friend-Shoring & the Twilight of Multilateralism

More Protectionism is Poor Trade Policy

Supply Management – A Disaster for Canada

Recent Developments in Canada’s Trade Law Regime

In this short commentary, I describe some notable developments in Canada’s trade remedy system, heralding what seems to be a more agressive approach by the Federal government in dealing with imported goods, with China being in the focus. Trade Remedy Update-CD Howe Memo 11 May 2023

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) – Some Comments

The proliferation of bilateral international investment agreements (IIAs) globally, with their binding Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions, means that investment arbitrations will be an ongoing feature of business relations in many parts of the world. Even if some countries are terminating their IIAs, investment arbitrations will continue, the challenge for governments being to respond to… Read More »

A Comment on the WTO’s Future – C.D. Howe Institute

The World Trade Organization is facing serious challenges. Its negotiating functions are paralyzed by disagreements among member governments. The dispute settlement process is dysfunctional as well. Institutional reform of the Organization is long overdue. Given these problems, what is the realistic future of the WTO? Here are some practical suggestions. The WTO & Some Future… Read More »

Green Subsidies & Trade Wars – Commentary

One of the serious shortcomings of the global trading order – as represented by the WTO & its multilateral rules-based system – is that it is based on a commercial world that no longer exists. The rules are not adequate to deal with modern trade challenges, particularly climate change & decarboniztion. This short piece suggests… Read More »

World of Trade in 2023

In January 2023, I wrote an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail (Toronto) about the coming year’s prospects for the multilateral trading system, giving all the problems confronting the WTO. The piece outlines, in brief fashion, some themes for the year to come. Globe and Mail – Challenges for Global Trade in 2023

Critical Trade Issues for Critical Minerals

In this paper published by the MacDonald Laurier Institute, I say Canada’s Export Control List should be enlarged to include critical minerals, which is not the case now. Second, I say that export controls are a vital strategic tool and that any Canadian critical minerals policy must include export controls as a major component of… Read More »

Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy

Looking ahead to Canada’s proposed Indo-Pacific Strategy, a brief comment about export controls as one of the main components of that strategy, a trade tool little discussed in the press. Indo-Pacific+China Trade Policy

Putin May Never Face Justice for War Crimes

This is an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail (Toronto) commenting on Russian war crimes, explaining the application of the 1946 Nuremberg Principles to the horrendous actions of Mr. Putin and his acolytes. The caveat is that chances are nil that these individuals will ever face justice (in person) for their crimes.