14 October 2022
Maria Savona is Professor of Economics of Innovation at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex Business School and Full Professor at the Department of Finance and Economics at LUISS Business School in Rome. Filippo Bontadini is Assistant Professor in Applied Economics at LUISS and Associate Fellow at SPRU, University of Sussex. Valentina Meliciani is Professor of Applied Economics and Dean of the School of European Political Economy at LUISS. Ariel L. Wirkierman is Lecturer in Economics at Goldsmiths, University of London.
After the great recession of 2008-2009, the world economy seemed to enter a phase of de-globalisation or deceleration in globalisation. But, is this really the case? Are we actually just experiencing a reorganisation and regionalization of production and value chains? Are these trends similarly affecting Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, or are there regionally distinctive trends? (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi October 14th, 2022
Posted In: Uncategorised
Tags: international trade, Protectionism, supply chains, trade, trade data, trade dispute, trade policy, trade remedies, trade wars
16 September 2022
Erika Szyszczak is a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Professor Emerita of Law at the University of Sussex.
On 23 February 2022, in a Communication on decent work worldwide, the EU announced a new legislative initiative tackling issues of sustainability and working conditions in global trade. [1] On the same day, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi September 16th, 2022
Posted In: Uncategorised
Tags: China, digital trade, Enforcement, ethical trade, European Commission, European Union, international economic law, international trade, labour rules, labour standards, Protectionism, supply chains, trade, Trade agreements, trade data, trade policy, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, USA
12 September 2022
Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School.
Once again, the UK has a new Prime Minister, a new cabinet, and thus a new Secretary of State for International Trade. This is the 4th Secretary of State for trade in five years! (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi September 12th, 2022
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU, Uncategorised
Tags: agriculture, Australia, Brexit, China, Climate policy, Conservatives, CPTPP, digital trade, Free Trade Agreement, new zealand, Services, supply chains, trade, Trade agreements, Trade and Cooperation Agreement, trade negotiations, trade policy, World Trade Organization
29 May 2020
Policymakers should resist the urge to make kneejerk and wholesale changes to supply chains and global trade policy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an economist with the UK Trade Policy Observatory has warned.
Professor Michael Gasiorek, a trade policy expert at the University of Sussex Business School, is advising governments against making trade policy responses to the Coronavirus crisis which could have longer-lasting and potentially negative implications in the post-pandemic future for the global trading system. (more…)
George Meredith May 29th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, supply chains
28 May 2020
Sam Roscoe is a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management and Research Leader for the Supply Chain 4.0 Hub at the University of Sussex. He is an Associate Fellow of the UKTPO.
Boris Johnson has drawn up plans (codenamed Project Defend) to reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign countries for products that are deemed critical to the wellbeing of the nation. This follows a recent Fox News interview with President Donald Trump, who said “these stupid supply chains that are all over the world…..we should have them all in the United States”. And, a recent article from The Economist (May 16th-22nd, 2020) that declared the end of globalisation, noting that the push to bring supply chains back home in the name of resilience is accelerating. Indeed, the pandemic has exposed that global supply chains are only as strong as their weakest link and is prompting a move from low-cost, overseas production towards the localisation of manufacturing. (more…)
George Meredith May 28th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, supply chains
28 April 2020
Ian Clarke is CEO of Excalibur Managed Services Limited and Professor Erika Szyszczak is a Fellow of UKTPO.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of global supply chains and the need for robust public procurement policy and procedures. (more…)
George Meredith April 28th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, procurement, supply chains
16 April 2020
Peter Holmes is a Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory.
At the time of writing the UK is seeing food supplies returning to normal. It is worth asking what the experience of the first three weeks of lockdown can tell us about the causes of the apparent shortages and the implications for the future.
There is a hope that now everyone’s spare rooms are full of toilet rolls and cans of beans and the supermarkets are fuller, stocks will get back to normal. But it may not be quite as simple. Are shortages just due to excessive stockpiling or real supply constraints? And if the latter how does trade fit in? (more…)
George Meredith April 15th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, goods, supply chains
24 March 2020
Guest blog by Dr Sam Roscoe, Senior Lecturer in Operations Management and Research Leader for the Supply Chain 4.0 Hub at the University of Sussex.
COVID-19 has exposed a number of fundamental issues in grocery and pharmaceutical supply chains. The grocery sector has been particularly hard hit because of its ‘lean’ just-in-time delivery supply chain model, panic buying and labour shortages. Over the past two decades, the UK grocery sector has adopted the lean, just-in-time, supply chain model from the automotive sector. This rapid replenishment model focuses on minimizing inventory and delivering new products to store shelves as soon as a product is purchased at the tills. The advantages of this system are lower inventory carrying costs, reduced product handling and smaller store rooms. The disadvantage, as seen today, is that any unforeseen surge in demand makes it difficult for stores to quickly replenish shelves as inventory is not readily at hand. (more…)
George Meredith March 24th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, supply chains
