News: Updates
The EU Corporate Sustainability Due-Diligence Directive and China-EU Trade: Environmental Implications for the Chinese Electric-Vehicle Sector
WORKING PAPER 22 - This working paper analyses how the EU Corporate Sustainability Due-Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will reshape China–EU trade, using the Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) industry as a sectoral lens. By translating voluntary ESG norms into hard-law obligations, the CSDDD extends stringent environmental standards along global value chains and aims to “level the playing field” for firms accessing the EU Single Market. The study traces the Directive’s legal evolution, compares it with China’s ESG framework, and models compliance scenarios for Chinese EV exporters. Findings indicate that while the Directive raises due-diligence and reporting costs—especially for complex battery supply chains—it also offers first-mover advantages to firms that align quickly with EU benchmarks. Competitive outcomes will depend on supply-chain transparency, technology upgrading, and the degree of regulatory convergence between Brussels and Beijing.
Navigating the Shifting Currents of Global Trade: SA Business Chamber's Business Talk
At the South Australian Business Chamber’s “Business Talk” on 10 February 2025, Professor Peter Draper examined the shifting terrain of international trade. He highlighted neomercantilist ambitions, volatility driven by COVID-19 and geopolitical strains, and the possibility of the United States exiting the WTO—an event that could significantly alter tariffs worldwide. In an environment shaped by lingering protectionism since the 2008 financial crisis, he urged businesses to prepare by capitalizing on emerging sectors like green transition technologies, digital transformation, and defence.
Webinar: The Future of Australian Aid for Trade: Challenges and Opportunities in Digital Trade and E-commerce
15 November, 2024. The Institute for International Trade and Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade hosted a webinar and presentation on The Future of Australian Aid for Trade: Challenges and Opportunities in Digital Trade and E-commerce. The webinar covered the role of the recently concluded Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-commerce, in promoting common rules and transparency upon which developing countries in our region can base their trade and development trajectories.
2023 Australia-Thailand Economic Engagement Report
This report on the bilateral economic relationship between Australia and Thailand is part of an Australian Government focus to deepen trade and investment with the region in line with the Government’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. It identifies products and sectors where both countries could be trading more with one another, areas where they can cooperate more closely on economic governance, and makes recommendations for strengthening political, institutional and people-to-people ties between the two economies.
[Read more about 2023 Australia-Thailand Economic Engagement Report]
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