Category: International Economic Relations
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WTO Appellate Body Crisis: Who Really Loses?
How has the paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body since 2019 affected members unequally? While larger economies have adapted through the MPIA and bilateral settlements, smaller members lack the legal capacity and leverage to navigate the post-AB order. With the US absent from the MPIA and reform efforts stalled, the crisis has shifted the trading…
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Beyond OPEC: The UAE’s Strategic Shift
Main question: Why is the UAE leaving OPEC, and what are the consequences for geopolitics and global energy markets? Argument: The UAE seeks greater economic flexibility and strategic independence from Saudi-led OPEC policies. Conclusion: The withdrawal reflects a fragmenting global energy order and may weaken OPEC while increasing oil market volatility.
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The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Main Question – How does the USMCA benefit its partner countries? Argument – The USMCA benefits the partner countries by enhancing protections for business owners, innovators, and labourers. Conclusion – The USMCA helps the partner countries enjoy special privileges that boost local economies and protect individuals from employer abuse.
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Bigger Without Losing Better
Main question: How can the EU achieve enlargement without letting budget redistribution strains create disruptive domestic political deadlocks? Argument: The EU must implement a formalized rule of limited fiscal impact containing a double threshold on national gross national income shifts. Conclusion: Effective management of budgetary distribution balances political perceptions, rendering enlargement both viable and stable.
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European STEM Mobility Guarantee
Main question: How can Europe eliminate financial and administrative barriers to provide equal access to cross-border STEM experiences for all students? Argument: The EU must establish a STEM Mobility Guarantee using funded grants, a centralized digital portal, and standardized micro-credentials. Conclusion: This framework builds real technical capability, boosts economic competitiveness, and strengthens civic cohesion across…
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Central Asian Vantage Point
Main question: How can European consultancies use Central Asia strategically? Argument: European consultancies can act as institutional and informational intermediaries, helping local states and firms adopt EU-compatible standards while also gaining insight into Russia- and China-linked regional dynamics. Conclusion: The safest strategy is to build services around compliance, digital trade facilitation, AML/CFT, procurement transparency, and…
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CPEC and EU Connectivity
Pakistan can strengthen EU trade and connectivity through transparent governance, sustainable development, and standards-based cooperation under CPEC and the Global Gateway Initiative..
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The Mutual Industrial Resilience Program
How can the EU overcome structural vulnerabilities while reforming its slow, politically driven enlargement? The EU must deploy the €30B Industrial Resilience Facility and an EIB-backed 70% political risk insurance mechanism to embed candidates into European energy, technology, and manufacturing value chains. Enlargement must evolve into a mutual security strategy; by tying candidate stability directly…
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The Future of the Petrodollar
Main question: How might the energy transition affect the role and underlying strengths of the USD as the world’s reserve currency. Argument: one of the main pillars of USD dominance in global reserves is the ‘petrodollar’ system in which oil sales are denominated in dollars, requiring central banks to hold them in reserve. With the…
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The Weak Yen Trap
Q: Does Japan’s dollar exposure prevent the BoJ from raising rates? Arg: Low rates fuel carry trades that weaken the yen, while $1T+ in U.S. Treasuries ties Japan to U.S. monetary cycles — a self-reinforcing trap. Concl: Gradual normalisation is the best exit, but political pressures keep the status quo attractive.