Julien Chaisse

WTO members review five regional trade agreements, discuss transparency issues At a meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) on 3 March, WTO members reviewed five regional trade agreements (RTAs) involving Comoros, the European Union, Mozambique, Indonesia, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, T�rkiye and the Faroe Islands. They also reviewed other topics relevant to the Committee's work under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs.

WTO members review five regional trade agreements, discuss transparency issues #WTORTAs

When the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs, it effectively positioned the rule of law as the ultimate arbiter of terrible economic policy, argues Stephen S. Roach (@ssruschina.bsky.social).

bit.ly/4aDZ1QG

Venezuela proves the new gate to FDI is ‘permission to pay’ The country will not attract capital until money can move and disputes can end in cash

Read the column (open access):
www.fdiintelligence.com/content/a9a5...

Full issue:
www.fdiintelligence.com/content/c63d...

#FDI #Sanctions #InvestmentLaw #Arbitration

Investors now price licence probability and timing into discount rates, covenants and structure.

If money cannot move, capital will not either.

Where a sanctions licence is required, exit, settlement and enforcement become a permissions question.

The regulator controls timing, scope and conditions.

That affects creditor priority, recovery value and deal certainty.

#OFAC

The #Citgo sale in #Delaware shows the core problem.

Sanctions can leave assets intact — yet block the moment that matters: turning rights into cash.

Courts can validate claims. Buyers can be chosen. #Awards can be issued. Payment can still fail.

The February–April 2026 issue of @fDiIntelligence is out.

In my #GlobalLawyer column, I argue that #Venezuela’s investability is being decided as much in #Washington as in #Caracas. www.fdiintelligence.com/content/a9a5... 🧵

The Trump admin's rhetoric towards China has been confusing (confused?). But amid all the tariff noise, in 2025 US (direct) imports from China fell a LOT, not just in absolute terms but also as a share of its total.

1st 300 clicks of this summary of the confusion free:
as.ft.com/r/6ce00165-d...

Press release, full text in the link

EU Commission statement on SCOTUS tariff judgment - seeks "clarity" from Trump administration re deal with the EU ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

New EU statement on US tariff situaton:

- Current situation not conducive to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” trade

- EU products must continue to benefit from most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed

Venezuela proves the new gate to FDI is ‘permission to pay’ The country will not attract capital until money can move and disputes can end in cash

#Venezuela's creditors are battling their claims in US courts. But irrespective of the outcome, their right to recoup what they are owed boils down to sanctions approvals from the Treasury. The latest Global Lawyer column by @jchaisse.bsky.social has all the details ft.trib.al/34TMJCP

OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...

OpenAI ”acknowledged in its own research that LLMs will always produce hallucinations due to fundamental mathematical constraints that cannot be solved through better engineering, marking a significant admission from one of the AI industry’s leading companies.”

You can’t trust chatbots.

Le groupe français Sucden a contribué à l’effort de guerre russe en Ukraine Le magazine « Sources » d’Arte révèle que des filiales russes du géant français du sucre Sucden, qui emploie Nicolas Sarkozy comme consultant, ont fourni à l’armée russe de nombreux matériels utilisé…

Le magazine « Sources » d’Arte révèle que des filiales russes du géant français du sucre Sucden, qui emploie Nicolas Sarkozy comme consultant, ont fourni à l’armée russe de nombreux matériels utilisés sur le front en Ukraine.
www.mediapart.fr/journal/inte...

Russian Disinformation Targets Macron as French Prosecutors Move Against Elon Musk’s X From the Storm-1516 propaganda operation to raids on Musk’s Paris offices, France confronts disinformation, platform abuse, and democratic destabilisation

This week in the French Dispatch 🇫🇷

🇷🇺Operation Storm-1516 targets Emmanuel Macron
🚓Musk’s Paris offices raided before Paris Prosecutor summons

www.frenchdispatch.eu/p/russian-di...

Months after hearing arguments, the Supreme Court has yet to decide on Trump's tariffs When the Supreme Court granted an unusually quick hearing over President Donald Trump's tariffs, a similarly rapid resolution seemed possible. But nearly three months have elapsed since arguments in t...

Several Supreme Court practitioners and law professors scoffed at the idea that the justices are dragging their feet on tariffs, putting off a potentially uncomfortable ruling against the president. https://to.pbs.org/4rnt6JV

India's prime minister says it has reached a free trade with the EU Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties after nearly two decades of negotiations.

2025 Had the Most WTO Complaints Since 2019 Despite the ongoing crisis with the WTO Appellate Body, which has been only partially solved by the creation of the MPIA, 2025 saw a bit of an increase in the filing of requests for consultations under the DSU. Here's a snippet from our WorldTradeLaw.net page where we

2025 Had the Most WTO Complaints Since 2019

French farmers block Paris streets in protest against Mercosur trade deal French farmers launched a pre-dawn blockade of roads into Paris and several of the city's landmarks in protest against a sweeping trade deal the European Union hopes soon to sign with South American nations as well as other local grievances.

French farmers block Paris streets in protest against Mercosur trade deal reut.rs/49eDywY

China's dual-use export ban on Japan a decisive escalation Established trade flows are at risk if the restrictions are fully implemented.

China's dual-use export ban on Japan is a decisive escalation, with established trade flows at risk if the restrictions are fully implemented.

Did the Supreme Court just signal the fate of Trump’s tariffs? Card players recognize the signs of a “tell,” a player’s demeanor that telegraphs intent for the next hand. Just before Christmas, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Illinois made a procedural ruling that ...

Was the Supreme Court’s pre-Christmas decision in Trump v. Illinois a sign that it also planned to rule against Trump’s tariffs?

by Alan Wm. Wolff

Trump Says Venezuela to Send Oil Worth Up to $2.8 Billion to US President Donald Trump said Venezuela would relinquish as much as 50 million barrels of oil to the US, worth roughly $2.8 billion at the current market price, announcing the cargoes would be sold with...

Trump has announced "trade deals" with the EU, UK, Japan, China, and others, none of which have gone into effect. Why do we treat this claim as fact? Particularly when there are no details? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

With Trump's tariffs on the line, US Supreme Court plans rulings for Friday The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue rulings on Friday as it weighs cases with major implications both nationally and around the world including the legality of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs.

With Trump's tariffs on the line, US Supreme Court plans rulings for Friday reut.rs/3LyWfCr

Will survive, not could. Kevin Hassett, Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer have been saying they have a global tariff Plan B for months.

Trump's economic adviser says tariff refunds would be 'very complicated' and unlikely Oh, so now the Trump administration is worried about the complexity of its tariff polices?

"The tariffs are so complicated that even the government agency tasked with enforcing them can't accurately describe what they are." 🤣😢 reason.com/2025/12/23/t...

US-China Trade War Tariffs: An Up-to-Date Chart

Average US tariffs on China: 47.5%
Average Chinese tariffs on US: 31.9%

Average US tariffs on the rest of the world: 18.4%
Average Chinese tariffs on the rest of the world: 6.5%
#PIIECharts

U.S.-Japan panel convenes to mull projects for $550 billion fund The investment pledge is a pillar of the trade deal between the two countries.

A U.S.-Japan consultation panel held its first meeting to consider initial projects for a $550 billion investment pledge that is a pillar of the two countries’ trade deal.

Trump may use USMCA withdrawal as a bargaining tactic, trade experts warn Trump administration seeking ‘unilateral concessions from Canada and Mexico,’ an expert says

Trump may use USMCA withdrawal as a bargaining tactic, trade experts warn

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Breakingviews - Tariff refund spigot leaves Congress tapped out President Trump pushed trade levies as a multi-trillion revenue raiser. As the Supreme Court weighs nixing them, he wants to send $450 bln he might not have to consumers, upping deficits and inflation. The idea is bad; further severing legislators from spending plans is worse.

From Breakingviews - Breakingviews - Tariff refund spigot leaves Congress tapped out reut.rs/48y0Ey8

French court blocks foreign purchase of 17th century calculator A French court has blocked the export and foreign purchase of a 17th century arithmetic machine invented by Blaise Pascal to help ease the laborious task of calculating taxes.

A French court has blocked the export and foreign purchase of a 17th century arithmetic machine invented by Blaise Pascal to help ease the laborious task of calculating taxes.

"Harmful subsidies should be part of the trade and climate conversation," WTO DG @noiweala.bsky.social said in remarks at #COP30.

New OECD data: $624bn p.a. in +ve support to individual producers in 2022-24 (due to both border measures and budgetary outlays); $179bn in -ve support.

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