By Haig Simonian, courtesy of Avenir Suisse Healthcare, travel and education are just three of the areas being reassessed following the COVID-19 outbreak. Most momentous of all, however, is the worldwide rethink about globalization. Come a global disruptor like the corona virus, and the elaborate supply chains developed by industry over recent years […]
Tag: free trade
The G20 is a big deal again
“The revived centrality of the G20” By Suman Bery and Sybrand Brekelmans, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute A series of summits of governments and international financial institutions took place in April. Much was expected of these. They were seen as the opportunity for global financial leaders to provide authoritative guidance on the global response […]
Europeans take the Euro for granted
By Joris Melman and Giuseppe Porcaro, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute How can we understand citizens’ attitudes towards the euro and its politics? A previous research project studied narratives of the euro crisis and explored the blame game that marked these years. The study found part of the answer to why it has been so hard […]
The Sake-Scotch Pact: New EU-Japan alliance forming
“A Surprising New Alliance: Europe and Japan” Courtesy of CEPS Almost surreptitiously, Europe and Japan are discovering they have a great deal in common, joining up to defend free trade, democracy and the rule of law. For decades, low-grade commercial friction and political indifference marked the relationship. Japan’s powerful car industry frightened […]
No, the WTO isn’t dead, but it is on life support – and it could die this year
“Will the WTO Survive 2020?” By Daniel Gros, courtesy of CEPS The World Trade Organisation (WTO) did not die on December 11, 2019, but an important part is now missing: disputes among WTO member states can no longer be settled by an independent instance recognised by all parties. This was the function of […]
Trade deal will make it (even) harder for China to liberalize
“Trump’s ‘Phase 1’ Deal with China Promotes US Exports in the Wrong Way” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center A novel feature of the Trump administration’s “Phase 1” trade deal with China announced last Friday is that it would require China to increase its purchase of US goods and services by […]
UK election: after Conservative sweep, what’s next for Brexit and beyond?
“What does the Conservative election victory mean for Brexit?” By Dominic Walsh and Stephen Booth, courtesy of Open Europe Boris Johnson’s Conservatives secured a comfortable parliamentary majority in yesterday’s general election. With just one seat left to declare, the Conservatives have 364 seats – a majority of 78. Labour have won just 203 […]
WEEKLY UPDATE: Can economic freedom survive populism?
The future prosperity of the world hangs in the balance The wave of populism that has swept the world in recent years had its origins in a number of converging trends, including large-scale migration, globalization, and the financial crisis of 2008, all of which fueled a sense that legacy elites are self-interested and […]
Why does Switzerland have sugar subsidies? Why does anyone?
“Sweet temptation” By Dr. Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse Something consumed by lots of people every day should never be in short supply, even in a crisis — or so the thinking goes. The Swiss Confederation therefore requires selected sectors to engage in stockpiling, in order to be able to ensure continued […]
WEEKLY UPDATE: City air makes men free… so why not make new cities?
After all, we’ve been doing it for thousands of years It would be hard to list all the advantages that cities afford us, but the short version goes like this: urban centers concentrate labor, talent, wealth and innovation in a matrix that allows all of them to multiply and advance. Since ancient […]