Free Trade

Energy costs have been rising, particularly in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This price hike is a major blow to heavy industries for which energy makes up a large part of the cost of production. The issue has been further exacerbated by the fact that the affected products are mostly commodities. As a result, producers…

The EU has been at the forefront of efforts to consider environmental and development issues in trade agreements. EU new generation agreements include a ‘Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapter’ as a standard element whereby parties agree to various commitments on environmental and labour protection. But the EU’s approach came under severe criticism during…

The bicycle theory of trade suggests that the global trading system, much like a bicycle, must maintain steady momentum toward freer trade—any failure to move forward will condemn the multilateral system to topple over and fall due to pressures of protectionism. As the world's leading trading nation, the U.S. was traditionally seen as the key force…

International trade law has always been about tariffs. Tariffs were on Woodrow Wilson’s mind when he delivered his famous Fourteen Points in 1918, proposing the removal of all economic barriers as one of the ingredients for peace. Tariffs, or, should we say, the removal of tariffs was at the heart of Cordell Hull’s vision for a post-World War…