On a windy day on 2 April outside the White House, Donald Trump swept away America’s longstanding support for global economic integration. His “reciprocal” tariffs shredded whatever was left of US commitment to a multilateral trading system. In its wake, governments that depend on open economic engagement and cooperation must figure out what to do. They must do it together, as Deborah Elms writes, and a first step might be a coordinated statement from the CPTPP and EU, followed by dialogues in other collective venues. In a flurry of recent executive orders, Trump is laying out a new bid for the US to regain control of critical minerals globally, including opening talks with the politically troubled and corrupt gangs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Trump’s minerals strategy, Henry Storey writes, appears to have one critical flaw: they do not address supply-side reform at home. There is by now little doubt that the world cannot make net zero goals set for 2030. The EU sought to address its carbon footprint and negative spillover by autonomous extraterritorial measures, most notably the CBAM, but has never really properlyresolved concerns from trade partners and accusations of EU protectionism, Antoine Oger explores in a paper supported by the Hinrich Foundation. Plus, don’t miss our latest discussion guide on China’s long shadow over Asia’s minerals.
TRADE POLICY
How we move forward in Trump’s turbulent trade era
Deborah Elms 15 April 2025
On a windy day on 2 April outside the White House, Donald Trump swept away America’s longstanding support for global economic integration. His “reciprocal” tariffs shredded whatever was left of US commitment to a multilateral trading system. In its wake, governments that depend on open economic engagement and cooperation must figure out what to do. They must do it together, our Head of Trade Policy Deborah Elms writes, and a first step might be a coordinated statement from the CPTPP and EU, followed by dialogues in other collective venues.
What Trump doesn’t get about critical minerals in the US
Henry Storey 15 April 2025
In a flurry of recent executive orders, Donald Trump is laying out a new bid for the US to regain control of critical minerals, including opening talks with the politically troubled and corrupt gangs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Trump’s minerals strategy, as Dragoman research manager Henry Storey writes, appears to have one critical flaw: they do not address supply-side reform at home. The US is one of the slowest and most structurally challenged regulators when it comes to permitting processes for crucial parts of the mining value chain.
What’s missing in CBAM and the EU’s net zero strategy
Antoine Oger 15 April 2025
There is by now little doubt that the world cannot make global net zero goals set for 2030. Not least among the culprits is Europe, which continues to generate an unsustainable carbon footprint, interim executive director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy Antoine Oger, writes in a paper supported by the Hinrich Foundation under its Research Grant program. The EU seeks to redress this by autonomous extraterritorial measures, most notably CBAM, but has never really properly resolved concerns from its trade partners over the mechanism. Oger examines the policy trilemma between climate ambition, technical feasibility, and international equity in the EU’s net zero strategy.
China’s long shadow on critical minerals looms over Asia
To secure critical minerals it lacks domestically, China has been investing heavily overseas. In Southeast Asia, it has invested about US$4 billion since 2012 in 12 projects, majority of them in Indonesia, which supplies 16% of the world’s nickel. From a long-term geopolitical, economic, and sustainability perspective, it is not in ASEAN’s interests to be drawn exclusively into one Great Power’s sphere of influence. Check out our latest discussion guide, based on a paper by Senior Research Fellow Stewart Paterson.
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