Standards and regulations in trade agreements

Free Trade Agreements are increasingly not just about reducing 'tariff' barriers, but also about reducing other barriers which make it difficult for firms in one country to export to another country. Difference in regulations across countries are one such barrier. There are different approaches to deal with this issue and notably the US and the EU approach are often said to be not-compatible. In this project the question to address is:What are the difference in approaches to 'mutual recognition' between the EU and US and why does this matter?

Covid and supply chain reshoring

COVID had a dramatic impact not just on output but also trade. A common argument that has been made is that to protect themselves from future shocks firms should become less dependent on imported inputs and source more domestically. Are these good policy recommendations and if so why, and if not why? For this project you will be asked to consider the following question:As a result of the COVID shock should governments encourage domestic firms to reshore production, and if so how?

Export promotion

Many countries engage in export promotion policies as this is seen to bring positive economic benefits. The UK government has a whole strategy around the slogan "Exporting is Great". Yet trade theory suggests the gains from trade come from importing. For this project the question to address is:Are there any good reasons to engage in an export promotion strategy, and if so what policies would you recommend?

UK-EU Free Trade Agreement

A modern free trade agreement contains many elements: the liberalisation of trade in goods (agriculture, fishing, manufacturing), the liberalisation of trade in services, and various areas of what is known as deeper integration (mutual recognition of standards, investment, competition policy, intellectual property, movement of workers...). For this project you should choose one very specific area of the negotiations between the UK and the EU. For that specific area you should then focus on the following question: What should be the negotiating priorities of the UK? Why are these important and what might be the difficulties in achieving agreement with the EU?

Trade Disputes

The US administration under President Trump has initiated trade disputes with several countries. The most high profile is the dispute with China but the measures introduced by the US are much more wide-ranging. One example of this are threatened tariffs on imports of cars from the EU and the UK. For this project you should address the following question:How should the UK respond to the threat of tariffs on US imports of autos?

Supporting developing countries through trade

Many developed economies including the EU have a stated objective of supporting the development of poor nations in part through trade. The EU's trade policy towards poor developing countries is a mix of its Generalised System of Preference for some countries and free trade agreements with others. On leaving the EU the UK will need to develop its own independent policy towards poor developing countries. For this project therefore you should consider the following question: How could the UK improve on the current EU trade policy towards developing countries? Are there any other policies the UK might consider?

Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)

In signing agreements with another country, countries want to try and ensure that the partner country cannot introduce some policy that discriminates against an investor from their country. One way of achieving this is 'investor state dispute settlement' but this can be a controversial issue, as countries take different approaches to this. For this project the question to address is:Do the UK and the EU need an investor dispute settlement (ISDS) system?

Border Carbon Taxes

The issue of climate change is affecting us all and numerous policy options are being explored in attempt to deal with global warming. One policy under discussion is the idea to levy taxes (tariffs) on imports from countries who use carbon intensive techniques to produce those goods. These are known as 'border carbon taxes'. For this project you will be asked to consider the following question:Are border carbon taxes an appropriate way to contribute to dealing with climate change?