Policy & Engagement
In recent years we have seen unprecedented debate concerning the legitimacy of trade agreements, widespread concern about the potential effects of globalisation and a dangerous resurgence of protectionism which has the potential to profoundly impact economic development and trade arrangements throughout the world.
Today, more than ever, universities have a critical role to play in supporting the pursuit of effective, transparent and responsible trade policy which is both responsive to economic challenges and enables countries to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the global economy.
The Institute for International Trade works closely with our partners to develop and maintain a deep dialogue with government, business, civil society and the wider public.
Analysis and IIT news
The EU-China Investment Deal: Perspectives of the European services sectors on new opportunities in the world’s second largest economy
Dr Pascal Kerneis is Managing Director of the European Services Forum, Brussels.
On 30 December 2020, the European Union and China have concluded in principle the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). What could this agreement bring to European service businesses?
Global Food Systems: Fit for the Future?
Ken Ash is an Independent Consultant, IIT Visiting Fellow, and former OECD Director of Trade and Agriculture.
Well-functioning global food systems matter, to all of us. Global food systems perform well overall, and today provide more safe, nutritious, and affordable food per capita than ever before. At the same time, over 800 million people are undernourished and a higher number are overweight.
Pacific Trade Agreement Opens Door for Travel Bubble and Rule of Law
By Jim Redden; Director, Economic Development Services Ltd. Visiting Fellow, Institute for International Trade, Adelaide University and Peter Draper
Executive Director, Institute for International Trade, Adelaide University.
A ground-breaking trade agreement set to enter into force on December 13th(soon to be announced by Trade Minister Birmingham) could open the door for a regional travel corridor between Australia, New Zealand and most Pacific Island countries, while reinforcing the importance of a rules-based trade order in the region.
Managing the risks of rising government support: a case for policy transparency
Ken Ash is an Independent Consultant, IIT Visiting Fellow, and former OECD Director of Trade and Agriculture.
Governments generally support the smooth functioning of their domestic economies, through maintaining systems of good governance and the rule of law and ensuring a coherent macroeconomic and structural policy environment. Extraordinary support is sometimes also warranted, as is the case today to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. Few would dispute that these are essential roles for governments.
New Data links Outward Investment in Services to Australia’s Services Export Performance
Jane Drake-Brockman is Industry Professor with the Institute for International Trade and Founder of the Australian Services Roundtable, which in 2020 celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Measurement of trade in services is notoriously difficult. The official statistics on imports and exports contained in the Balance of Payments (BOP) are well known, for example, as measuring poorly at best only three of the four modes of international supply of services.
China-EU Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations in a crucial time: A Chinese Perspective
By Chenye Zhang, IIT Visiting Researcher and PhD Candidate at the University for International Business and Economics.
A Chinese perspective: In November 2013 BIT negotiations between China and the EU officially commenced. The goal was to reach a high-level agreement covering investment protection and market access. At the China-EU Summit in 2019, both parties reached consensus on achieving a high-level BIT by the end of 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused difficulties, China and the EU have been actively pushing the negotiations forward.
01 Sep By Lisa Hunt, Business Manager, Institute for International Trade, The University of Adelaide and Professor Peter Draper, Executive Director, Institute for International Trade, The University of Adelaide. 07 Aug
What can Australia gain from agricultural subsidy reform?
By Kym Anderson, George Gollin Professor Emeritus, School of Economics, University of Adelaide; CEPR Fellow; and Honorary Professor of Economics, Arndt-Corden Dept of Economics, Australian National University. 14 Jul
The Perfect Storm: Interventionism, Inequality, Decoupling and Zombies
By Carlos A. Primo Braga, Associate Professor, Fundação Dom Cabral and former Director, Economic Policy and Debt, The World Bank. 03 Jul By Peter Draper Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide and Jim Redden Senior Lecturer & Visiting Fellow, Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide. 23 Jun
Brexit Done, A UK-EU Trade Agreement to Go?
By Richard Pomfret, Professor of Economics & Jean Monnet Chair Economics of European Integration, the University of Adelaide 18 Jun
Responding to COVID-19: A key role for ASEAN in the region
By Milton Churche and Michael Mugliston, visiting fellows, Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide.
Over the past four months COVID-19 has exacerbated existing trade and geopolitical tensions, fuelled scepticism about the benefits of globalisation and seen already high-levels of economic uncertainty rise. As governments across the globe respond to protect their citizens lives and livelihoods, the resulting restrictions on the movement of people, capital, goods and services across borders has proven catastrophic for many businesses working in Global Value Chains (GVCs).
Even though research earlier this century suggested market access barriers were far more important than domestic subsidies in restricting global farm trade, new analysis suggests farm subsidies have become far more important in recent years.
Covid-19 already ranks among the most impactful pandemics of the last 100 years. Most governments have put their economies in a temporary “coma” with a view to mitigate the spread of the virus (SARS-CoV2). This inevitably increases the economic pain associated with the pandemic in the short run and generates pressures for a quick return to normality. Lessons from the past, however, suggest that the health crisis can go on for much longer than most politicians anticipate.
For a short time Australia has an unrivalled opportunity to set itself apart from donors to the Pacific including China, Japan and the European Union. As Victoria’s current COVID-19 spike shows, it will take Australia some time to open its borders to the world and allow residents to travel wherever they like. But there’s no reason why it shouldn’t open its borders to some parts of the world sooner than others, especially those in which it has a special interest and in which the spread of coronavirus is slowing.
A trade agreement between the UK and EU27 looks in trouble. The UK left the EU on 31 January. 2020 is the transition year when the Withdrawal Agreement is implemented and the UK and EU reach agreement on their future relations. Distracted by COVID, some people, e.g. Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney, argue that this timeframe for reaching agreement in future relations is too short, while UK negotiators insist that the deadline is non-negotiable.
A key characteristic of the health and economic crises unleashed by Covid-19 is the very high degree of uncertainty over the course of the disease, the trajectory of the economic downturn and the roadmap for restoring sustained economic growth. Indexes measuring global policy uncertainty are showing unprecedented levels of uncertainty. The World Pandemics Uncertainty Index that measures economic uncertainty associated with pandemics and other disease outbreaks since 1996 is at record highs.