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China’s Western Neighbours, and the Future of Eurasian Overland Trade
Richard Pomfret, Emeritus Professor of Economics, the University of Adelaide.
China’s flagship foreign policy, the Silk Road Economic Belt, was announced in 2013 in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, and became part of the Belt and Road Initiative that was launched in May 2017. Rail connections west through Kazakhstan were the key part of the overland “Belt”. President Xi has recently and publically confirmed the importance of this relationship, an act which has import in the context of the current Ukraine-Russia war, as argued in this op-ed
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Australia and the European Union’s shared Indo-Pacific Future
Professor Peter Draper Executive Director, Institute for International Trade
Naoise McDonagh, Lecturer & Policy & Engagement Managing Editor
After recently holding hearings on the EU’s Indo-Pacific trade strategy, the EU Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) is visiting Australia this week. The EU Parliament has equal decision-making status on trade issues with the Council and Commission, so the significance of the visit for EU-Australia trade relations should not be underestimated.
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The future of EU trade policy and strategies in a militarised environment
WORKING PAPER 11
China’s economic rise has transformed the international trade system. Furthermore, given its divergent economic model China is challenging the global economic order in ways that previous Asian competitors never did. In response to systemic rivalry and an increasingly tense international environment, the EU seeks to build more “strategic autonomy” from the United States, its main security benefactor. Economically, the EU policy of Open Strategic Autonomy seeks to maintain openness to trade, while developing tools for dealing with coercive and unfair trade practices. This paper identifies the key elements of this policy, as well as the risks it holds for European economic liberalism.
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Desktop analysis of agricultural subsidies and environmental impacts
WORKING PAPER 10
There is broad agreement that much of the government support provided to agriculture today is environmentally harmful. This report explores the impacts of production and trade-distorting domestic support in agriculture on climate (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions) and the environment (i.e., water, biodiversity, and land degradation). Global reform is needed, however agriculture is a highly sensitive sector, one that is crucial for national food security. Gaining momentum for policy change can be difficult. Successful policy reform requires coalition building. A sustained evidence-based networking initiative that incorporates active public engagement and global coalition building should be developed on a priority basis.
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