Overall, decoupling from certain countries may be both politically necessary and economically feasible, at least in the long run. However, a general shift of production back to Europe would be accompanied by significant losses in real income.

The current problems of international trade can certainly not be solved by resorting to the arsenal of national trade policies. World-wide economic losses would be the inevitable result. Therefore the first set of tripartite talks between the "major trading powers", the USA, the EC and Japan,...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that is transforming every aspect of life from finance to transportation, health care and national security. It has already started to revolutionise the way we communicate, conduct research, analyse data and streamline labour processes. However, AI...

China is the leading exporter of rare earths, elements which are crucial to the development of high-tech products and new green technologies. In recent years, however, China has begun imposing export restraints on these elements in order to benefi t its domestic economic development. This...

Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain were all hit by the economic downturn in the course of the financial crisis and have been struggling with national debt crises and recession. A problem common to all of these countries is the collapse of national demand. Foreign trade might seem a logical way...

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is far broader in policy coverage than conventional trade agreements for goods. At the same time, governments are offered more flexibility to tailor their obligations to sector- or country-specific needs. As a result, commitments vary widely...

The distinct trends towards regionalisation in the world economy that could be observed in recent years should not be interpreted merely as the formation of economic blocs or "fortresses". This would amount to adopting a biased, backward-looking approach that sees only the sombre experiences of...