L1 - Introduction and International Economic
Law
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
● Lecture 1 - International Economic Law - Now we’re still after WWI and just before WWII -> what
- Half of the course is International Trade Law and half is you need to take from this is that we had a world where
Human Rights countries were trying to crash each other’s economies
- The current political situation is important to take account through monetary policies, trade policies and the result
of was the collapse of international trade -> led to the Great
Depression of the 1920’s
● Geopolitical situation from 1945 - 2014 (ish) There are several characteristics of international
economic law that can be mentioned ->
1. International economic law can have an
extraordinary broad scope of application -> virtually
every type of government regulation of economic
activities is attracted by many subjects that we think
of more broadly than general international law
- Talking about international economic law -> to start with 2. An observable feature of these government
the worldwide financial difficulties of the past several regulatory regimes is that increasingly national
years -> since international economic law has an governments find they cannot effectively regulate
important and potentially profound relationship to those many of these activities without some type of
difficulties cooperation/coordination with other national
- Current financial crisis -> the crisis in world finance and governments/institutes -> some cases the focus can
economics of 1997 and 1998 has been the most significant be on economic regulation and in other cases
crisis in international economics since WWII and poses a transactional activity, however here the focus is on
number of questions for scholars and thinkers on this economic regulation
subject -> what we witnessed since late summer of 1997 is 3. The linkage between the national or municipal law
an extreme case of market failure and international law -> must look at these two
- The major clamor of the moment is for governments to intertwining levels of law to successfully approach
act -> the markets themselves watch for signals that this subject.
governments can cope/will try to cope with the problems - Many think that international economic law or GATT-WTO
law is a separate regime, which is wrong -> the new WTO
- Starting from WWII = never again and with that of course
appellate body process in its very first case nailed that
the idea is to prevent WWI and WWII from emerging
subject by indicating that the WTO
- Economic crisis of 1929 was one of the factors
agreement/interpretation were part of international law
contributing to WWII, as well as anti-semitism
4. International economic law suggests a
- First of all we see a breakdown of international trade is
multidisciplinary approach -> we do not all have to be
very clear from both WW’s -> so international trade
economists, but it does mean we need to be sensitive to
almost close to a halt
the policy/motivations so we can understand a treaty
- Beggar-thy-neighbour (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) =
norm or a national law norm in the context of these policy
famous American act which raised tariffs on goods on
motivations
average with 68% -> measure by the US saying if you want
5. International economic law generally is focussed on
to import to the US you are going to pay at least more
treaty law -> there is not an awful lot of customary
than half of your products just as taxes, which is the
international law that can help us with this subject
measure they used to protect their industries -> if you
- Another aspect is the logical framework for international
import very expensive and your domestic products are
economic thinking -> whether economic policies based on
cheaper, than your domestic products are going to be sold
market principles are the best approach for maximizing
to your domestic consumers
human satisfaction is controversial.
- So US citizens buy US products because foreign products
are more expensive = other countries do the same, can be
even more extreme
- Countries also started playing with their currencies =
crushing economies by re-evaluating their currencies -> so
the international financial system was very instable -> the
golden standard, so currencies were tied to gold, was let
go because it didn’t work anymore
1
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
called the Bretton Woods institutes and they directly
● Why do we have international rules on trade? addressed these root causes of international conflict ->
monetary issues, financial issues and trade
- The differences between countries is being a problem ->
economic differences, powerful states and developing
states -> leads to conflict -> this is what the World Bank is
trying to address but completely wrong -> loaning money
to developing countries from developed countries
- The idea -> everybody lifted out of poverty, no more crisis
- Human rights are a direct response to the atrocities of
- That leads to a crash of the trading system when all WWII
countries start doing it -> so an economic, international - In Europe we have a parallel initiative going on -> EU
economy collapse, monetary financial system all collapsed - So that is the old World Order
and then this anti-semitism remark that was just made
- Strong leaders -> direct reference to Hitler ● The new, new world ‘order’
- It’s interesting to see how financial and economic
systems can lead the world
● The old, new world order
- I just talked about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff-Act just
before WWII with a 68% tariff -> not compared to what is
happening today, especially the last 2-3 years -> US has
imposed a 250% tax on dairy to Canada -> seems
outrageous
- It seems like history is repeating itself -> why is the US
president doing what he is doing? Trump is often pictured
- Ended somewhere between 2000 and now -> I don’t as a clown or a genius
know where, but it is gradual - He grabs power and gets away with it on an international
- The response to this situation before WWI was to create and a national level and undermines international law
international cooperation -> never again, so we need to - China is using the rules, but is not playing with them
work together to make this happen -> that is the post-WW - Why Greenland (=critical resources, minerals) -> real
situation attempt to grab Greenland which didn’t work out
- Bretton Wood institutions (BWIs) -> are the International - Monroe doctrine = this is my backyard and I decide what
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, which happens here, other side of the Soviet Union idea
were created in 1944 at a UN conference in Bretton - Venezuela = other sign of this
Woods, New Hampshire and were designed to regulate - Cuba = what probably will happen in Cuba -> US wants to
the global monetary system to prevent monetary crises change the regime here by cutting off the oil supply -> US
and foster post WWII-reconstruction and economic flexing it territory
stability - Why Venezuela and Iran -> oil -> Iran is a major supplier
- The IMF and the World Bank have interesting structures, to China -> if we look at the official numbers these
including weighted voting -> has been discussion about countries don’t officially export oil to China but the reality
reforming this system by doing away with one or the other is that these countries deliver oil to each other
institutions and start fresh -> seems to be a general - So this is what were seeing -> US is cutting off oil supply
agreement this will not happen -> weighted voting of China and this entire situation is part of geopolitical
recognized power differences in the world -> so powerful philosophy/struggle where the US wants to be stronger
nations will not lightly give up these Bretton Woods than Russia/China and China is doing the same
institutions that use this procedure -> see how we can - International law is standing in the way -> this is not
reform these Bretton Woods institutions allowed, but these countries are doing it anyway
- What do we work together on is everything basically -> - This is just a geopolitical struggle -> reason given under
anything that touches the international sphere was then International law to do these things are flingsy
turned into cooperation -> we got these organizations - But why are we talking about this??
2
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
- International law is really suffering at the moment - We have a village producing deer cheaply compared to
- Companies trade by standards set by the WTO fish and vice versa = if you want to have as much deer as
- It will stay relevant, even if the WTO is dismantled and fish as consumers, it will mean that deer village to create
we get another organization 10 deer and 10 fish to have labour costs 20 + 40 = 60 and
- On one hand the system is being vice versa
undermined/dismantled and other hand we are not sure - If you start trading = can do much more easy
- Deer village produces 20 deer and fish village 20 fish =
● Why liberalise trade? trade and end result produce everything for the cost of 2
instead of the cost of 4
- So you see why it is beneficial to start trading -> this is
the heart of why we open borders
- Now we have mainly discussed how international war
did break down -> now I am going to discuss why do we
have this international order, especially the training
regime and what is its value
- But why do we liberalise change? -> there is a very
important theory that is not per se true, but it definitely
explains the world, the training system that we have set
up mainly in the 80s and the 90s and it has been going on
from 1945-1947 until now
- We will heavily criticize this perspective
- Theory of comparative advantage = if you have two states
then it is good to liberalise trade (= opening borders) -> - Reality is = when you produce something may or may not
essentially what we are doing in the EU but also globally use chemicals, have regulatory requirements,
- Globally it is done under the auspices of the WTO and - You cannot sell a washing machine that opens if you run
locally the recently created Mercosur Agreement it -> it has to have a lock in it
- We have the European Economic Area (EEA) -> so there - Global supply chains = especially an issue in Corona
are many of these trading blocks where the main purpose times, we have a JiT system and wars are distorting the
is opening borders and trade open borders to trade
- We don’t just eat fish and deer = random list of a
● But why is international trade so important? category of products that we have (there are 20.000
categories) and each has their own number -> useful
because then we can use that to say that the tariff on milk
and cream of the EU is 5% and then you just write down
as 022, 5% -> just a random list
- So the simplified version of fish and deer -> this is not
reality -> theory however remains the same -> opening
borders remains beneficial
- All these disruptions can also lead to food insecurity
- Countries need to accept to produce some food
products, like GMO corn in Mexico -> food sovereignty
aspect
- Essence of the theory of comparative advantage in most
- All these aspects we will talk about in this course
simple version
- The idea of comparative advantage -> if we have two
● Trade agreements
villages and they’re going to trade, or at least figure out
why they trade, and the idea is that there is a difference
between the way products are produced, which is what
we call comparative advantage -> there is one village that
has an advantage in creating something over another
3
Law
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
● Lecture 1 - International Economic Law - Now we’re still after WWI and just before WWII -> what
- Half of the course is International Trade Law and half is you need to take from this is that we had a world where
Human Rights countries were trying to crash each other’s economies
- The current political situation is important to take account through monetary policies, trade policies and the result
of was the collapse of international trade -> led to the Great
Depression of the 1920’s
● Geopolitical situation from 1945 - 2014 (ish) There are several characteristics of international
economic law that can be mentioned ->
1. International economic law can have an
extraordinary broad scope of application -> virtually
every type of government regulation of economic
activities is attracted by many subjects that we think
of more broadly than general international law
- Talking about international economic law -> to start with 2. An observable feature of these government
the worldwide financial difficulties of the past several regulatory regimes is that increasingly national
years -> since international economic law has an governments find they cannot effectively regulate
important and potentially profound relationship to those many of these activities without some type of
difficulties cooperation/coordination with other national
- Current financial crisis -> the crisis in world finance and governments/institutes -> some cases the focus can
economics of 1997 and 1998 has been the most significant be on economic regulation and in other cases
crisis in international economics since WWII and poses a transactional activity, however here the focus is on
number of questions for scholars and thinkers on this economic regulation
subject -> what we witnessed since late summer of 1997 is 3. The linkage between the national or municipal law
an extreme case of market failure and international law -> must look at these two
- The major clamor of the moment is for governments to intertwining levels of law to successfully approach
act -> the markets themselves watch for signals that this subject.
governments can cope/will try to cope with the problems - Many think that international economic law or GATT-WTO
law is a separate regime, which is wrong -> the new WTO
- Starting from WWII = never again and with that of course
appellate body process in its very first case nailed that
the idea is to prevent WWI and WWII from emerging
subject by indicating that the WTO
- Economic crisis of 1929 was one of the factors
agreement/interpretation were part of international law
contributing to WWII, as well as anti-semitism
4. International economic law suggests a
- First of all we see a breakdown of international trade is
multidisciplinary approach -> we do not all have to be
very clear from both WW’s -> so international trade
economists, but it does mean we need to be sensitive to
almost close to a halt
the policy/motivations so we can understand a treaty
- Beggar-thy-neighbour (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) =
norm or a national law norm in the context of these policy
famous American act which raised tariffs on goods on
motivations
average with 68% -> measure by the US saying if you want
5. International economic law generally is focussed on
to import to the US you are going to pay at least more
treaty law -> there is not an awful lot of customary
than half of your products just as taxes, which is the
international law that can help us with this subject
measure they used to protect their industries -> if you
- Another aspect is the logical framework for international
import very expensive and your domestic products are
economic thinking -> whether economic policies based on
cheaper, than your domestic products are going to be sold
market principles are the best approach for maximizing
to your domestic consumers
human satisfaction is controversial.
- So US citizens buy US products because foreign products
are more expensive = other countries do the same, can be
even more extreme
- Countries also started playing with their currencies =
crushing economies by re-evaluating their currencies -> so
the international financial system was very instable -> the
golden standard, so currencies were tied to gold, was let
go because it didn’t work anymore
1
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
called the Bretton Woods institutes and they directly
● Why do we have international rules on trade? addressed these root causes of international conflict ->
monetary issues, financial issues and trade
- The differences between countries is being a problem ->
economic differences, powerful states and developing
states -> leads to conflict -> this is what the World Bank is
trying to address but completely wrong -> loaning money
to developing countries from developed countries
- The idea -> everybody lifted out of poverty, no more crisis
- Human rights are a direct response to the atrocities of
- That leads to a crash of the trading system when all WWII
countries start doing it -> so an economic, international - In Europe we have a parallel initiative going on -> EU
economy collapse, monetary financial system all collapsed - So that is the old World Order
and then this anti-semitism remark that was just made
- Strong leaders -> direct reference to Hitler ● The new, new world ‘order’
- It’s interesting to see how financial and economic
systems can lead the world
● The old, new world order
- I just talked about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff-Act just
before WWII with a 68% tariff -> not compared to what is
happening today, especially the last 2-3 years -> US has
imposed a 250% tax on dairy to Canada -> seems
outrageous
- It seems like history is repeating itself -> why is the US
president doing what he is doing? Trump is often pictured
- Ended somewhere between 2000 and now -> I don’t as a clown or a genius
know where, but it is gradual - He grabs power and gets away with it on an international
- The response to this situation before WWI was to create and a national level and undermines international law
international cooperation -> never again, so we need to - China is using the rules, but is not playing with them
work together to make this happen -> that is the post-WW - Why Greenland (=critical resources, minerals) -> real
situation attempt to grab Greenland which didn’t work out
- Bretton Wood institutions (BWIs) -> are the International - Monroe doctrine = this is my backyard and I decide what
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, which happens here, other side of the Soviet Union idea
were created in 1944 at a UN conference in Bretton - Venezuela = other sign of this
Woods, New Hampshire and were designed to regulate - Cuba = what probably will happen in Cuba -> US wants to
the global monetary system to prevent monetary crises change the regime here by cutting off the oil supply -> US
and foster post WWII-reconstruction and economic flexing it territory
stability - Why Venezuela and Iran -> oil -> Iran is a major supplier
- The IMF and the World Bank have interesting structures, to China -> if we look at the official numbers these
including weighted voting -> has been discussion about countries don’t officially export oil to China but the reality
reforming this system by doing away with one or the other is that these countries deliver oil to each other
institutions and start fresh -> seems to be a general - So this is what were seeing -> US is cutting off oil supply
agreement this will not happen -> weighted voting of China and this entire situation is part of geopolitical
recognized power differences in the world -> so powerful philosophy/struggle where the US wants to be stronger
nations will not lightly give up these Bretton Woods than Russia/China and China is doing the same
institutions that use this procedure -> see how we can - International law is standing in the way -> this is not
reform these Bretton Woods institutions allowed, but these countries are doing it anyway
- What do we work together on is everything basically -> - This is just a geopolitical struggle -> reason given under
anything that touches the international sphere was then International law to do these things are flingsy
turned into cooperation -> we got these organizations - But why are we talking about this??
2
, LAW31806
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the course and to International Economic Law
International Food Law | Period 5 | 2025-2026
- International law is really suffering at the moment - We have a village producing deer cheaply compared to
- Companies trade by standards set by the WTO fish and vice versa = if you want to have as much deer as
- It will stay relevant, even if the WTO is dismantled and fish as consumers, it will mean that deer village to create
we get another organization 10 deer and 10 fish to have labour costs 20 + 40 = 60 and
- On one hand the system is being vice versa
undermined/dismantled and other hand we are not sure - If you start trading = can do much more easy
- Deer village produces 20 deer and fish village 20 fish =
● Why liberalise trade? trade and end result produce everything for the cost of 2
instead of the cost of 4
- So you see why it is beneficial to start trading -> this is
the heart of why we open borders
- Now we have mainly discussed how international war
did break down -> now I am going to discuss why do we
have this international order, especially the training
regime and what is its value
- But why do we liberalise change? -> there is a very
important theory that is not per se true, but it definitely
explains the world, the training system that we have set
up mainly in the 80s and the 90s and it has been going on
from 1945-1947 until now
- We will heavily criticize this perspective
- Theory of comparative advantage = if you have two states
then it is good to liberalise trade (= opening borders) -> - Reality is = when you produce something may or may not
essentially what we are doing in the EU but also globally use chemicals, have regulatory requirements,
- Globally it is done under the auspices of the WTO and - You cannot sell a washing machine that opens if you run
locally the recently created Mercosur Agreement it -> it has to have a lock in it
- We have the European Economic Area (EEA) -> so there - Global supply chains = especially an issue in Corona
are many of these trading blocks where the main purpose times, we have a JiT system and wars are distorting the
is opening borders and trade open borders to trade
- We don’t just eat fish and deer = random list of a
● But why is international trade so important? category of products that we have (there are 20.000
categories) and each has their own number -> useful
because then we can use that to say that the tariff on milk
and cream of the EU is 5% and then you just write down
as 022, 5% -> just a random list
- So the simplified version of fish and deer -> this is not
reality -> theory however remains the same -> opening
borders remains beneficial
- All these disruptions can also lead to food insecurity
- Countries need to accept to produce some food
products, like GMO corn in Mexico -> food sovereignty
aspect
- Essence of the theory of comparative advantage in most
- All these aspects we will talk about in this course
simple version
- The idea of comparative advantage -> if we have two
● Trade agreements
villages and they’re going to trade, or at least figure out
why they trade, and the idea is that there is a difference
between the way products are produced, which is what
we call comparative advantage -> there is one village that
has an advantage in creating something over another
3
