US Trade Policy, China and the World Trade Organisation

The last few years have been "anni horribiles" for in International Economic Law in general and in particular for the World Trade Organization, since its inception in 1995 the guarantor of the world multilateral trade system. The increasing trade tensions, a high level of US security tariffs on steel and aluminium, the US boycott of the WTO Appellate Body, the US-China "trade war" and the reasons underlining it, only aggravated a disastrous world-wide economic situation at a time of tremendous global health and societal emergency, due to the persistent devastating spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book critically discusses the most salient past US administration’s unilateralist and protectionist practices. At the same time investigating the new Biden Administration’s trade approaches in order to assess whether the precedent trade trajectory is likely to continue, or there is hope of reviving the US commitment to the rule-based multilateral trading system. The book’s goal consists in distilling from current legal events the reasoning that might help the next generations in obtaining what the world needs most. These are a conscious and voluntary return to multilateralism, the search of new forms of effective global cooperation, better trade policies, a more equitable globalization, sound legal arguments, and solid economic reasons to combat rising nationalisms. If enacted, these elements hopefully would contribute to defeat new risks of political conflicts and long-lasting "trade wars". The book will be helpful to students and scholars in international and trade law, political science, and also professionals working in international and EU institutions.

It is with great pleasure that I sign this endorsement of mine to the very fine volume of professor Nerina Boschiero of the University of Milan, Italy, Law School, on "US Trade Policy, China and the WTO".This is not only an excellent, well researched and balanced work, it is also a very timely volume. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and against the background of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the WTO, a legal analysis of the US trade policies straddling over the last two administrations, and their implications on the lasting trade tensions among major economic powers, is more salient than ever. The WTO cannot flourish without the active participation and support of countries such as the USA and China, but the same States cannot thrive by pursuing unilateral trade policies. This well-crafted book puts the spotlight on distinct topics such as the recent US measures against China under US Sections 232 and 301; the relationships between the Trump and Biden administrations’ trade policies with the ongoing crisis of the WTO dispute settlement system; the very nature of the security exception provision under GATT Article XXI. The rigor of the legal analysis proposed is admirable, especially when one considers that the book was conceived and finalized over years of dramatic changes in international relations. Professor Boschiero’ s outstanding and comprehensive book will be of interest to a broad audience, including international law scholars, practitioners, postgraduate students, as well as domestic civil servants (attached e.g., to national foreign ministries or trade departments); civil servants of international or regional organizations (e.g., at the level of the WTO, or the EU); and NGO experts (especially those focusing on trade implications on human rights).Sincerely Emeritus Professor Giorgio SacerdotiProfessor of International lawFormer Chairman of the Appellate BodyDuring the last six years a revolution has occurred in international trade politics and law. The United States is at the center, especially concerning US relations with China. COVID19 has also complicated matters as has the war in Ukraine. Professor Boschiero, courageously in my view, has written a manuscript that details this revolution in trade law and globalization. She gives a first view of these developments. No other author to my knowledge has attempted to relate this story. Professor Boschiero in her manuscript both recounts the great changes of the past six years, she also analyzes these developments with a critical eye. Her book is a valuable piece of work that should appeal to a broad audience, which includes everyone interested in international trade and globalization.Thomas J. Schoenbaum, University of Washington School of Law

Nerina Boschiero is Professor of International Law. She has been the Dean of Faculty of Law at the University of Milan (2014-2021), where she teaches International Law, Private International Law and International Sustainable Development Law. She activated a new international programme (LLM in Sustainable Development) entirely taught in English, and a new PHD (truly international) on Law, Ethics, and Economics on Sustainability