Geopolitics, economic security and trade cooperation

This project is the continuation of an earlier research project supported by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, ‘Revitalising multilateral governance at the WTO 2.0’ (see below) and is co-funded by the Robert Schuman Centre’s Global Governance Programme and the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business (Columbia Business School) and the APEC Study Center (Columbia University). The project focuses on the implications for the multilateral trading system of proposals to engage in ‘friend shoring’ of trade and investment, motivated by national security and values, and the increasing resort to unilateral trade measures by the major trade powers.  The project includes analysis of potential impacts on globalisation; implications for developing countries; and the design of reforms to re-establish a fully operational dispute settlement system and improve the functions of the organisation.

Revitalising multilateral governance at the WTO 2.0

Following the Report of the High-Level Group of Experts on the Future of Global Trade Governance, the second stage of this project supported by the Bertelsmann Stiftung focuses on key areas of policy conflict such as subsidies and dispute settlement and on improving WTO working practices.

Publications

• Geopolitical competition, globalisation and WTO reform, Bernard M. Hoekman, Petros C. Mavroidis and Douglas R. Nelson, 2023
• Revitalizing Multilateral Governance at the World Trade Organization, Report of the High-Level Board of Experts on the Future of Global Trade Governance, Bertelsmann Stiftung (ed.), Bernard Hoekman

Working Papers

• Industrial Policy and International Cooperation, Bernard M. Hoekman and Douglas R. Nelson, 2024
• Informing WTO Reform: Practitioner Perspectives from China, the EU, and the U.S., Bernard Hoekman, Robert Wolfe
• Informal Learning and WTO Renewal, Using Thematic Sessions to Create More Opportunities for Dialogue, Robert Wolfe
• Reforming WTO Conflict Management, Why and How to Improve the Use of ‘Specific Trade Concerns’, Robert Wolfe
• Is World Trade Organization Information Good Enough?, How a Systematic Reflection by Members on Transparency Could Promote Institutional learning, Robert Wolfe
• Open Plurilateral Agreements, Global Spillovers and the Multilateral Trading System (Working Paper), Bernard Hoekman and Charles Sabel
• WTO Dispute Settlement and the Appellate Body Crisis: Detailed Survey Results, Matteo Fiorini, Bernard Hoekman, Petros Mavroidis, Maarja Saluste, Robert Wolfe
• Yours Is Bigger than Mine!, How an Index like the PSE Helps in Understanding the Comparative Incidence of Subsidies, Robert Wolfe
• Rethinking International Subsidy Rules, Bernard Hoekman and Douglas Nelson
• WTO Dispute Settlement and the Appellate Body Crisis, Back to the Future?, Bernard Hoekman and Petros Mavroidis

Policy Briefs

• Bolstering International Cooperation on Subsidy Policies, Bolstering International Cooperation on Subsidy Policies, Bernard Hoekman, Douglas Nelson & Robert Wolfe
• Reform of WTO Working Practices, Robert Wolfe
• Open Plurilateral Agreements, Global Spillovers and the Multilateral Trading System, Bernard Hoekman and Charles Sabel
• The Appellate Body Crisis and WTO Dispute Settlement Reform, Bernard Hoekman and Petros Mavroidis