The authors analyze the economic consequences of the Economic and Trade Agreement (ETA) between China and the USA, also referred to as the Phase-I Deal, which was signed on January 15, 2020. It is a highly asymmetric treaty which commits China to open its markets and to purchase large quantities...

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of international value chains in the face of global shocks. This has triggered a political discussion regarding a possible reshoring of vulnerable supply chains back home. The aim is to reduce dependencies on foreign suppliers and thus improve...

The authors analyze whether the US-Japan Trade Agreement is consistent with GATT Article XXIV that carves out an exception to the WTO's "Most-Favored Nation" (MFN) principle. They conclude that the agreement is unlikely to meet the "substantially all the trade" criterion of GATT Article XXIV...

The US-China Economic and Trade Agreement (ETA) entered into force on 14th February 2020, marking a new phase in their protracted trade and geopolitical rivalry. The ETA includes specific targets for increased Chinese imports of US goods and services, amounting to 200 bn USD over 2020 and 2021....

Following the upcoming U.S. elections, the EU should prioritize defending the multilateral trade system, as a collapse in global economic cooperation could impact Europe up to four times more than direct U.S. tariffs alone. Potential U.S. trade policies under either a Harris or second Trump...