The Geneva Trade Platform is thrilled to invite you to join us at the Villa Barton on the 15th of September for the Geneva launches of two exciting new books coming at very different aspects of international trade policy.

Beginning from 10:30, Professor Craig VanGrasstek will present his book "On Trade War" and discuss its historical insights alongside discussant Hamid Mamdouh.

Then at 12:00, following a coffee break, Professor Gabrielle Marceau and her co-author Maria George will showcase their own new work, "Assistants in International Dispute Settlement" with the help of discussant Prof. Joost Pauwelyn.

There will be plenty of opportunity to engage with and put questions to all three authors, as well as to have your copies of both texts signed.

Author Biographies

Craig vanGrasstek

“Craig VanGrasstek,” according to The Economist (January 22, 2000), “keeps a sharp eye on the politics of trade.” His new book On Trade War (Cambridge University Press, 2026) examines the theory and practice of trade wars from the ancient world to modern times. This follows Trade and America Leadership: The Paradoxes of Power and Wealth from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump (Cambridge University Press, 2019), which reviewed the shifting place of trade policy in the grand strategy of the United States. He also wrote The History and Future of the World Trade Organization (WTO, 2013), as well as numerous other books, articles, and monographs.

Dr. VanGrasstek taught courses on trade policy at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2000 to 2023, having also taught international economics at the American University School of International Service (1994-2000) and literature at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service (2006-2009), and has lectured in the diplomatic academies of the United States, the United Kingdom, and ten other countries.

He received his doctorate in political science from Princeton University (1995), and a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from, Georgetown University (1983). He has provided advisory, analytical, and training services to numerous international organizations, national governments, and private firms in over four dozen countries.

Gabrielle Marceau

Gabrielle Marceau was nominated Honorary Professor (Emeritus) at the University of Geneva on 1 April 2025. Professor Marceau was appointed as a lecturer in 2000 and became an Associate Professor in the Department of Public International Law and International Organization at the Faculty of Law at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in 2005. She taught International Economic Lawand WTO Law, supervised numerous master's theses and doctoral dissertations, and organized conferences and research seminars. She also created a doctoral seminar. She is also visiting professor at the University of Ottawa, Law Faculty - Hyman Soloway Chair, and Associate Professor at Laval University, Québec.

Professor Marceau serves on several scientific councils promoting international economic law. She has been the president of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), is a member of the board of directors of the Geneva Society for Law and Legislation (SGDL) and is a Counsellor of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). Professor Marceau is a specialist in dispute settlement and the legal relationships between international trade and non-commercial considerations (such as environment, human rights, labour,etc.), with more than 130 publications (including 5 books) to her name.

Gabrielle Marceau has also worked at the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization for over 30 years, serving as a legal adviser in international disputes, in the Cabinet of Director-General Pascal Lamy, and in the Economic Research and Statistics Division.

Maria George

Maria is a PhD Candidate with the International Law Department of IHEID, working on issues of causation in international law and climate change, focusing on narratives of climate vulnerable states and peoples. She previously worked as a qualified lawyer in India, assisting the Government of India in international trade disputes and in domestic legislative drafting, and as an intern with the World Trade Organisation.

She is presently a research assistant with the Right of Microbes project (New Frontiers in Research Fund), examining legal and governance frameworks that adequately reflect the foundational role of microbes in relation to humans, non-humans, and wider planetary systems."

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