Career achievement: made it into an academic selfie with @djag2.bsky.social (also: @ipster.bsky.social, a “smashing jacket”!)

Super excited to be organising this workshop with @claerwen.bsky.social in our capacity as co-chairs of the @anzsilgsil.bsky.social

Looking forward to reading your abstracts then hearing your papers!

Just 13 sleeps to ANZSIL 2025, the world's best-sized public international law conference!

Updated program available!

anzsil.org/resources/Do...

I hate to ask but is legal academic acceptable?

I suppose Happy Feet was the reason that the Heard and McDonald islands got such a big tariff hit

Don't make me tap the sign meme with text that you cannot tariff a service

Screenshot from the NYtimes that sovereignty outran journalism

A headline that feels accurate about other things than horse racing these days.

Spot on by @nicolaslamp.bsky.social: ”For whatever else President Trump did on April 2nd, he did not offer a superior alternative to [highly imperfect system of international trade law that we have]-not for the United States, and much less for the world.”

Apply for my old job (10 years ago…) !

They’re missing an opportunity here to sell an actual biscuit tin

Liz Truss: *kills queen*
JD Vance: Hold my communion wine

Ursula von der Leyen: "We have no bros and no oligarchs" Donald Trump's second term has brought "historic changes", says EU President Ursula von der Leyen. In our interview, she explains how Europe must respond.

Interview with Ursula VdL in ZeitOnline. Some real zingers in there to go with a changing narrative about Europe lately (cf The Economist) www.zeit.de/politik/2025...

Not just the neckline!

GPGs are what they are regardless of the motivation of the one providing it - and that motivation has shifted. Previously intrinsically motivated, the US now wants some extrinsic motivation (or more explicitly monetary?).

Why not both?

After Trump Tariffs, Volkswagen to Add ‘Import Fees’ to Cars Sold in U.S. The company’s move is one of the first and clearest examples of automakers using price increases to deal with the 25 percent tariffs President Trump imposed on car and auto parts imports.

I tell students that trade law outlaws quantitative restrictions but not tariffs (subject to bindings etc) partly because Ts are more visible to consumers and thus more vulnerable to political pressure. The addition of an import fee could be a good example of that. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/b...

Liberation day is so tariffying.

Japan, Canada, Mexico, and the UK are already party to the CPTPP. Some have suggested that the EU should join as well, but that's unlikely due to differences in regulatory approaches.

US: Reactions to Trump's so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs - retaliations, disputes, and other comments I did not intend to do two Trump-related posts in a row, but I have been tracking the recent tariff announcements (as have many others) and I thought it might be useful to compile what I’ve been seein...

Very useful tracker by @devonwhittle.bsky.social! tradenotes.substack.com/p/us-reactio...

Glad someone is bringing the levity today!

Useful thread by Thomas

I guess the “separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei)” didn’t fit on his chart

Congratulations!

Require all emails to be printed out at the border and then post it to the recipient after they pay for the stamp?

Can NZ politicians and lawyers stop talking about tariffs on services and think about how you would put a tariff on a service? Keep thinking…

ITC Export Potential Map Showcases results from the export potential assessment methodology that spots products, markets and suppliers with untapped export potential

For NZ exporters wondering about other markets: exportpotential.intracen.org/en/markets/g...

Happy Autarky Day, America!

FTAs might be slightly more fruitful because the route to retaliation isn’t blocked by appeals into the void.

Winston Peters pours cold water on immigration changes with India The Foreign Minister says he sees no need for a relaxation of immigration settings as part of trade talks with India.

Last week, NZ and India announced that they'll restart FTA negotiations. But news items like this one make me think that it is more likely to be a difficult negotiation as anyone negotiating with India is finding out. www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

TikTok af

Ad for New York recruiting federal employees

Picture of the text of the declaration of independence on the wall at the NMAAHC in DC: “ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT.”

Now that I am back from my trip to the US, a few political ads that caught my eye and an excerpt from some 1776 document…