Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Seminar: China in the WTO

This 2 credit-seminar deals with particular topics raised by China's integration in to the world trading system. Some background in WTO law, trade policy, or international economics will be helpful but there are no prerequisites for the seminar. The seminar will take up a number of key issues facing the international trading system by China's entry into the WTO, the disputes that have arisen between China and its trading partners and certain cutting edge legal issues having to do with China as an important global player in international trade and investment. The seminar will pay particular attention to areas such as the following: cases before the WTO; China's internal market distribution, intellectual property issues, competition law, currency matters, and investment law and policy matters. Other key areas such as climate and bilateral US-China issues will also be examined. In each such area, the seminar will bring leading experts and practitioners to participate in the seminar, discuss select papers with the faculty and students and critically examine the existing international legal regime as well as national and regional legal and policy issues. The course is inter-disciplinary but centered on legal analysis.

Students will be required to write a final paper (not multiple reaction papers). Students wishing to write a longer paper in conjunction with the course may opt to do so, and to obtain a third credit, by enrolling in supervised research in conjunction with the seminar.