There are now twelve new style freeports in the UK, set up under the previous Conservative government which was convinced that freeports would represent a major Brexit dividend for Britain. There are also eight regional investment zones in the UK with the promise of more to come.

This podcast puts investment zones and freeports under an analytical lens to determine what they are and how they work. It investigates whether they make sense as a way of kick-starting economic activity and driving trade-based growth or whether we should be concerned about the idea of favouring some regions of the country over others; and is there any evidence that these investment zones and freeports are actually making a positive difference?

Joining our host Chris Horseman (Borderlex) are Steve Fothergill (Industrial Communities Alliance/Sheffield Hallam University), Peter Holmes (University of Sussex/UKTPO), Anna Jerzewska (Trade & Borders) and Kevin McKenzie (Plymouth City Council).

Industrial policy is coming to dominate the global trade landscape and is massively important in political and economic terms as well. Today, as the world becomes a more geopolitically fractured place, governments are taking a very close interest in their manufacturing sectors to ensure they are attracting the investment that will allow them to hold the keys to a green economy of the future. It's a big shift away from the concept of a global open marketplace which for so many years seemed to be the direction of travel. But is it sustainable, how much help does industry need to be able to produce the things that people want to buy, and where do we draw the line between investing in national economic security and good old-fashioned protectionism?

Joining Chris Horseman (Borderlex) are Minako Morita-Jaeger (CITP) and Allie Renison (SEC Newgate).

Next week, Americans will go to the polls and a new President will be elected. This podcast looks at the trade policy proposal of one candidate, the Republican Donald Trump, to put flat-rate tariffs of up to 20% on all US imports and a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports.

What would the impact be on US businesses and consumers? Which sectors are set to be most affected? What would such tariffs mean for transatlantic and global trade? Do they have popular support in the US?

Providing forensic insight into all these questions are Nicolò Tamberi (CITP) and Rodney Ludema (Georgetown University), together with our host Chris Horseman.

The Labour Party promised to re-set the relationship between the UK and the EU. Now that it’s been in government for a few months - what has changed? With the new government seeing opportunities in working more collaboratively with its EU partners – on defence and security, but also on the nuts and bolts of our trade relationship - there’s undoubtedly been a change of tone.

Our panellists on this podcast discuss whether the UK’s agenda for closer trade ties with the EU is realistic, consider the EU’s position and appetite for trade negotiations with the UK and analyse the political commitments that will be required on both sides.

Joining Chris Horseman on this episode are David Henig (ECIPE), Viviane Gravey (Queen’s University Belfast/CITP) and Ignacio Garcia Bercero (Bruegel/European Commission).

Trade professionals at the WTO Public Forum provide their thoughts on one of the big issues confronting trade policy – inclusiveness. How can we ensure that the benefits and economic gains of international trade are shared as widely and as fully as possible? Does the WTO function in a way that benefits developing countries as much as richer countries? Listen to contributions from a wide range of individuals including Ralph Ossa, WTO: Anabel Gonzalez, IDB; Tahira Nasim, Scottish Development International; and more…

‘En direct’ from the World Trade Organisation Public Forum 2024, this podcast focuses on the WTO’s decision-making process. Responsible consensus was a phrase first coined after the Ministerial Meeting in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, due to impasse on a number of issues. The organisations’ rules make it clear that nothing can be agreed unless there is consensus among all members. But what does it mean if one country, or a small group of countries, block an agreement which is supported by most of the other 166 WTO members? Is this the fault of the majority for failing to bring the dissenting states along with them?

Tackling this difficult area where arcane questions of WTO procedure collide with raw geopolitics are special guests; H.E. Mr Tan Hung Seng, Ambassador of Singapore; Gabrielle Marceau, Professor at the University of Geneva and Senior Counsellor in the Research Division (ERSD) of the WTO Secretariat; Abhijit Das, International trade expert and independent researcher; and Professor Andrew Lang, Edinburgh School of Law with our host Chris Horseman, Borderlex.

The WTO’s track record in updating the global trade rules that came into effect in the mid-1990s is not particularly impressive. How can the WTO be made to function better without losing its cherished status as a member-driven organization that works on the basis of consensus? The WTO’s General Council is currently grappling with the issue of how to reform the organization to make it easier to conclude new agreements and resolve disputes on the implementation of existing ones.

Ahead of the WTO Public Forum next week, Chris Horseman sat down with the current chair of the General Council, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, to talk about the reforms that are needed – and the prospects of reaching an agreement to keep the organization relevant - and why he needs Taylor Swift on his side!

Critical Raw Materials is the topic for this episode and looks at why they have become such an important part of our trade policy discussions. The conversation explores how to ensure that our trade policies enable a flow of these critical raw materials to the industries that need them; and whether we should be concerned that the increasingly fraught geopolitical situation might create serious problems for the emergence of a new lower carbon economy.

Joining Chris Horseman on this episode are Sunayana Sasmal (University of Sussex/UKTPO), Tom Moerenhout (Columbia University) and Laura Kelly (IIED).

In this episode, we look at trade ‘mini deals’. There is a plethora of international agreements out there that focus on a particular area of trade such as mutual recognition agreements. Should governments be doing more of these deals rather than the big comprehensive free trade agreements and what do they contribute to global trade?

In discussion with Chris Horseman (Borderlex) are Lucian Cernat (European Commission), Kathleen Claussen (Georgetown University) and Mattia di Ubaldo (CITP).

Professor Alan Winters reflects on 50 years as a trade policy expert. Having retired at the end of May, Alan’s long and distinguished career in Economics includes Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP), Founding Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory, stints at the World Bank and as a Chief Economist for a UK Government department, and of course, academia. A lot has happened in 50 years, now, at a critical moment in the evolution of the UK's trade policy, Professor L. Alan Winters reflects on his long career in an ever-changing trade policy environment with Chris Horseman (Borderlex) and also looks at what the key issues might likely be over the next 5-10 years.