After a few weeks of being fairly quiet, think tanks doing things on trade policy have been churning out reports again – long or short – on some big-ticket items: WTO reform, EU data flows and EU Turkey relations.
World Trade Organization
WTO Corner: Japan-China dispute goes to MPIA, Australia and China settle
The alternative appeals mechanism set up by 25 World Trade Organization members is set to hear a second case brought by two mighty countries: Japan and China.
G7 trade ministers focus on coercion, export controls
Japan hosted an online trade ministers meeting of the Group of Seven countries on Tuesday. The joint communiqué reaffirms the world’s rich-country group’s common positions on a range of trade policy issues, not least their common goals in the World Trade Organization and ahead of its next ministerial conference in …
WTO dispute settlement body formally starts reform conversation
Reform has emerged, like a submarine, to the surface of the World Trade Organization’s turbulent waters as the issue was formally discussed for the first time at today’s monthly meeting of the dispute settlement body.
THINK TANK: Solar, China and embedded carbon; Korea-ASEAN, trade facilitation and fish
One of the most interesting publications of trade policy think tanks and research institutions this week is by the Hinrich Foundation and delves into the global solar panel supply chain. The OECD has updated its trade facilitation database and the International Institute for Sustainable Development has released a detailed explainer …
THINK TANK: Gender, investment, and digital fragmentation risks
Think tankers have been busy, with gender, investment and digital overarching themes. A selection of the latest work by international trade policy think tanks by Maia Wilson, with some input from Iana Dreyer.
THINK TANK: Multilateralism worth saving
The WTO says multilateralism has helped keep the food price crisis in check after the war in Ukraine. And the think tank Bruegel chimes in with its own report on how the EU should respond to US green subsidies.
Agriculture: WTO members to focus on ‘food security’ deal ahead of MC13
There is only one year to go until the next WTO ministerial conference in the United Arab Emirates and the new chair of the agriculture pillar of MC13 has plenty on his hands to work with.
THINK TANK: Trade policy’s paradigm shift sidelines WTO
War, a pandemic and the impending climate crisis have greatly impacted the global trade regime. ‘Multipurpose trade policy’ is the new game in town and the tight grip that international trade law once had over the international trading order is loosening. This paradigm shift is not without its challenges. These …
WTO secretariat ends year with painful budget squeeze
The year at the World Trade Organization’s secretariat is ending on a bitter note amidst a row with India over the use of a 2021 budget surplus. In a context of planning uncertainty, the secretariat did not renew the contracts of around fifty consultants with time-limited work arrangements at headquarters …
