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The market is a powerful instrument to counter human rights violations in China

Human Rights

Andreas Freytag, Professor and Chair of Economic Policy, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena and Visiting Professor with IIT
European Union (EU) foreign ministers have finally responded to China's documented human rights abuses by imposing sanctions on four individuals and one organization believed to be substantially involved in the oppression of Uyghurs in north-western China. Reports
of the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs provide evidence of mass detention and human rights abuses.

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Putting “Values” into Value Chains in an Era of System Rivalry

Value Chains Op-Ed

Naoise McDonagh, Lecturer in Political Economy, Institute for International Trade.
The EU and U.S. have a history of using trade agreements to project their value-systems on trading partners. The EU is forthright about this goal, stating: “projecting our rules and values in trade agreements helps the EU shape globalisation, especially on issues like human rights, working conditions and environmental protection”

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An Opportunity for Leadership on Trade Secrets Protection in the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement

Trade Secrets Protection

Douglas C. Lippoldt, International Trade Economist & Senior Fellow, CIGI, and  Mark F. Schultz, Professor & Goodyear Chair in IP Law, University of Akron School of Law
The proposed Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement aims to promote innovation as a key priority, with provisions in support of bilateral foreign direct investment, balanced protection of intellectual property rights, and co-operation in research and development (R&D).

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IIT Monthly Newsletter - March 2021

WTO

IIT Monthly Newsletter - March 2021. This edition of our monthly newsletter contains a rich set of insights into the challenges confronting the world trading system. Australia, being a middle power with extensive trade interests, has a strong stake in how they are addressed. 

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Interactive Discussion on Revitalising Multilateralism

Multi Flags

Tuesday 23 February, 2020.  Leading experts from Asian Trade Centre, International Law and Global Governance, Edinburgh Law School, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade joined IIT to discuss recently published
e-book Revitalising Multilateralism: Pragmatic ideas for the new World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General.

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With a new Director General, can the WTO become a force for progress again?

WTO

Andreas Freytag, Professor and Chair of Economic Policy, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena and Visiting Professor with IIT
Six months after the resignation of Roberto Azevédo the World Trade Organization (WTO) finally has a new leader. With Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the WTO is breaking new ground twice: for the first time in WTO history a woman is the Director-General, and for the first time the WTO is headed by an African woman.

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Is plurilateralism making the WTO an institutional zombie?

WTO BUILDING

Dr Naoise McDonagh is Lecturer in Political Economy at the Institute for International Trade. 
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 2014 Trade Facilitation Agreement is the only significant multilateral agreement it has concluded since its inception in 1995. Against that success, significant failures stand out. 

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Morphing Risks to Australia’s Goods Trade with China

Boat in water

WORKING PAPER 02
At the start of 2020, the US-China Economic and Trade Agreement (the Phase One Agreement or Agreement) captured the attention of Australian policy makers and business. China had agreed to substantially increase goods imports from the United States in 2020 and 2021 and to accept certain US standards and conformity assessment procedures to assist US companies to access Chinese agricultural markets.
 

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Rethinking WTO Rules on Chinese Industrial Subsidies, and Approaches for Future Reform

Op-ed Weihuan Zhou & Mandy Meng Fang

Weihuan Zhou is Associate Professor, Director of Research, and Member of the Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW Sydney. Mandy Meng Fang is Assistant Professor, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
The reform of WTO rules on industrial subsidies should be based on a better understanding of the efficacy of the rules on China and fresh principles and approaches. It is time for governments to rebuild the political will needed for international cooperation.

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Pursuing an Open Strategic Autonomy trade policy against China: Expect policy fluidity

Op-ed by Weinian Hu

Weinian Hu is Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium. The EU’s Open Strategic Autonomy policy approach was first revealed under the Commission’s recovery plan post-Covid, which was released in May 2020.

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