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.
Stories and opinions
Global Trading System
Anabel Gonzalez -Independent consultant on Trade and Investment. With trade conflicts, new technologies and geopolitical competition reshaping the global economy, the trade and investment policy landscape is rapidly changing. While different scenarios are playing out, managed trade is gaining traction, rules are increasingly fragmented in competing spheres of influence and global trade governance is weakening. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is under strain and the business environment is more uncertain, volatile and increasingly power-driven than before.
Read more about Global Trading System
World In a Box - 50 years of containerization in Australia
On 22 October IIT staff and students participated in the launch of World in a Box by Minister for Trade Tourism and Investment, Senator The Hon Simon Birmingham at the University of Adelaide. The short film commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first international container ship in Australian ports. The Minister was welcomed by Executive Dean of the Faculty of Professions, Professor John Williams. The audience contained DFAT officials and representatives from Australian ports and exporters as well as from Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping line.
Read more about World In a Box - 50 years of containerization in Australia
Launch - World in a Box -Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
On 22 October IIT staff and students and Centre of Excellence Director Richard Pomfret participated in the launch of World in a Box by by Minister for Trade Tourism and Investment, Senator The Hon Simon Birmingham at the University of Adelaide. The short film commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first international container ship in Australian ports. The Minister was welcomed by Executive Dean of the Faculty of Professions, Professor John Williams. The audience contained DFAT officials and representatives from Australian ports and exporters as well as from Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping line.
Read more about Launch - World in a Box -Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Second Adelaide-Bologna Dialogue on Australia-EU Relations
Hosted by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, on 13 September 2019. Participants investigated why the time is opportune by examining the evolution of EU and Australian trade policies and situating this evolution in the twenty-first century world trading system. Background papers were presented by Philomena Murray (University of Melbourne), Lucian Cernat (EU Chief Trade Economist), Richard Pomfret (Director, CoE) and Michael Plummer (Director, The Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe, Bologna).
Read more about The Second Adelaide-Bologna Dialogue on Australia-EU Relations
Does Mr Johnson have a Brexit-Strategy?
By Professor Andreas Freytag
FSU Jena, University of Stellenbosch, CESifo Research Network, and STIAS
September 13th, 2019
Since his inauguration in late July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not missed a single opportunity to push himself into the international limelight and provoke controversial reactions in Britain and elsewhere. The tentative climax of the Johnson show was his forced prorogue of the British House of Commons a few weeks before Britain's final exit from the European Union (EU).
Rethinking Trade Architecture - Adelaide Trade Policy Conference
Speaking at IIT's recent ‘Rethinking Trade Architecture’ conference held at The Intercontinental Hotel on 10 September, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff reflected on the current challenges facing the world trading system and what the system might look like in the year 2050. He foresaw that the system will continue to be tested but it will endure and improvements will be made to make it “effective with respect to all aspects of global needs, not least economic development”. To read his full speech click here
Read more about Rethinking Trade Architecture - Adelaide Trade Policy Conference15 Nov
Fellow of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE)
Richard Pomfret has been appointed an external Fellow of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) in Warsaw for 2019-21. 30 Sep
Trade and Investment in Services Associates (TIISA) Network
The Trade and Investment in Services Associates (TIISA) network held its first annual conference at the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern in Switzerland on 20-21 September. Researchers from six of the partner institutions presented papers around the theme Trade in Services by Mode of Supply. The conference also included papers from staff of the WTO, the OECD and the US Federal Reserve highlighting major new advances in data on services trade as well as services research from those institutions. 05 Sep
Australia - Europe Economic Relations Dialogue
Annual Conference on EU-Australian relations. Held at John Hopkins University Bolgona 1st October 2018 and at University of Adelaide 13 September 2019 06 Aug
Reflections on the Global Review of Aid for Trade Conference
Jim Redden Visiting Fellow Institute for International Trade 30 Jul
How can LDCs ensure they continue to benefit from special and differential treatment in the WTO?
Mike Humphrey - Senior Trade Advisor IIT - As most international-trade observers are aware, debate is currently raging about the World Trade Organization’s relevance and role, its need for organisational reform, and the lack of progress in the Doha Round. Special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions are an important component of this wider debate, and particularly the question of which countries should benefit from them—an issue intimately tied to the matter of self-designation. 25 Jul
Next Event: Globalization, Robotics and the Future of Work "The Globotics Upheaval"
In a world of disruptors and “virtual” globalization, how should we prepare and respond to “future-proof” jobs and hard-won prosperity? Who will be the winners, and who the losers? What strategies may be implemented to harness the major economic forces shaping the global future, address a resultant rise in inequality, and populism, and focus on issues including the social value of work.
CASE has been ranked the number one think tank in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the Global Think Tank Report of the University of Pennsylvania (April 2019, p. 94).
Over the three day review, I was involved in a significant number of the workshops and plenaries, and held meetings with donors and recipient partners of Aid for Trade (AfT) gaining insights into a range of themes and issues that have emerged as high priorities for the next 2-3 years. Below I have attempted to summarise a number of those priorities.