New Publications: Australia-EU Trade Relations in the Global Context

This collection of opinions reflects on the Australia-European Union (EU) trade relationship in a period of major geostrategic and geoeconomic upheaval. This collection comes as countries around the world seek to make sense of, and manage, the fallout from changing US tariffs and ongoing trade policy uncertainty. China’s continued rise founded on an export-led and state-directed growth model, and the Trump Administration’s aggressive trade unilateralism, are challenging the international rules-based trade order of which Australia and the EU are strong supporters.

The views presented here identify the strong incentives for increased collaboration between the EU and Australia to protect, if not bolster, the institutions supporting open, rules-based trade, as well as the challenges that make collaboration difficult.

The contributors to this publication are experts in their field who bring unique insights and recommendations on how Australia and the EU can, together, steer their response to global uncertainty.

Australia-EU Trade Relations in the Global Context (An Overview) by Professor Peter Draper, Executive Director of the Institute of International Trade, School of Economics and Public Policy, at Adelaide University and Dr Prudence Gordon, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Trade and Investment.

Part 1: Australia-EU Trade Relations in a New Geostrategic Order

1.                  Evolution of Australia-EU Trade Relations and Responses to Trade Disruption - Common Foundations, New Challenges by Professor Richard Pomfret, Professor of Economics Emeritus, Adelaide University and Senior Associate Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

2.                  Australia’s and Europe’s Responses to US-Tariffs since Liberation Day – A Plea for Calm and Predictable Action by Professor Andreas Freytag, Professor of Economics at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Honorary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch and Senior Fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy and Nicolas Haase is a Research Associate in the Economic Policy Team at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena 

3.                  Strategic Alignment and Trade Weaponisation by Dr Alica Kizekova, Lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University

4.                  Leveraging ASEAN as a Bridge: Strengthening Australia-Europe Economic Integration through Tri-Regional Value Chains by Dr Nathan Grey, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for International Trade, Adelaide University

5.                  The Australia-EU FTA in the Global Context by Dr Prudence Gordon, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Trade and Investment

Part 2: Opportunities for Australia-EU Cooperation via the CPTPP

6.                  Leveraging CPTPP and EU Cooperation in the New Global Context by Professor Michael G. Plummer, Eni Professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Europe 

7.                  Preparing for New Globalisation: The New Political Economy of a CPTPP-Europe Accord by Fredrik Erixon, Founding Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy

Part 3: EU and Australian Approaches to CBAMs

8.                  Prospects for EU-Australia collaboration on border carbon adjustments: The EU CBAM experience by Dr Daniel Rossetto, Adjunct Faculty Member of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources at Adelaide University and Ing. Giuseppe Montesano, Professional Fellow of the Italian Committee of the World Energy Council and Strategic Adviser to Utilitalia

9.                  Prospects for EU-Australia collaboration on border carbon adjustments: Australia and global carbon reduction efforts by Dr Susan Stone, Credit Union South Australia Chair of Economics at Adelaide University

Part 4: Australian and EU Approaches to Investment, AI and Critical Minerals

10.              International investment, the EU and EU-Australia relations: Between security and sustainability by Dr Ivana Damjanovic, Associate Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Business Government and Law at the University of Canberra

11.              Approaches to AI Regulation: The EU AI Act as a model for Australia by Professor Felicity Dean, Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law at the Queensland University of Technology

12.              Smart use of export controls in the emerging EU–Australia critical raw materials trade by Dr Umair Ghori, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at Bond University