Dr Jappe Eckhardt’s Seminar 2 of 6 paper is now a peer-reviewed output….Say it once Say it twice!!!!

The politics of global value chains: import-dependent firms and EU–Asia trade agreements

By

Jappe Eckhardt and Arlo Porletti

In 2006, the European Commission released its Global Europe Communication, in which it announced a shift from a multilateral to a bilateral trade strategy. One of the key pillars of this new strategy was to strengthen the bilateral trade relations with key Asian countries. In contrast to existing analyses that focus on European Union (EU) decision-makers’ agency, we propose an explanation for this notable shift in the EU’s trade policy that stresses the political role of import-dependent firms. In light of the increasing integration of such firms into global value chains, the article argues that a plausible case can be made, both theoretically and empirically, that import-dependent firms had a clear stake in the signing of preferential trade agreements between the EU and Asian countries and that their lobbying efforts significantly affected the EU’s decision to start negotiations on such agreements with South Korea, India and Vietnam [Culled from T and F online].

This journal publication is available to order online and in stores via the same webpage. See DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2015.1085073

DR JAPPE ECKHARDT’S NEW BOOK RELEASE ON EU-CHINA RELATIONS

Business Lobbying and Trade Governance: The Case of EU-China Relations

By

Jappe Eckhardt

The above titled book was co-authored by one of GIFTAproject’s very own; Dr Jappe Eckhardt.

What role do firms play in European Union (EU) trade policymaking? “What is the effect of the globalization of production and the emergence of global value chains on the trade preferences, lobby strategies and political influence of various business groups in the EU? How does an established power like the EU deal with the rise of China and how does it regulate the drastically changed patterns of trade in the 21st Century? This book investigates the pivotal political role of firm lobbying within the context of EU-China trade relations, and focusses on the circumstances under which the winners and losers of globalization in the EU lobby, as well as on the receptiveness of decision-makers in the EU to their demands. By examining a series of recent EU-China trade defense cases, the book provides a fresh and innovative account of business-government relations in the EU and sheds new light on the complex trade relations between the EU and China. The book is a must read for students, scholars and practitioners interested in the European Union, trade politics, China’s rise, global value chains and international political economy” [Culled from Palgrave webpage].

This book is available to order online and in stores via the same webpage. See: <http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/business-lobbying-and-trade-governance-jappe-eckhardt/?K=9781137325433>.

Dr Gabriel Siles-Brugge’s recent book release on TTIP

TTIP: The Truth about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership  (ISBN: 978-1-5095-0101-4)

by

Ferdi  De Ville  and Gabriel Siles-Brugge 

Note: *Click on title above  for full details and price discounts-members and non-members included, terms and conditions  apply)

The above titled book was co-authored by one of GIFTAproject’s very own; Dr Gabriel Siles-Brugge. This book is available to order online and in stores.

Available at : <http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1509501010,subjectCd-FI40.html>

EFTA and Central American States sign Protocol of Accession of Guatemala to the EFTA-Central America Free Trade Agreement | European Free Trade Association

“Ministers from the Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – and from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama signed the Protocol of Accession of Guatemala to the EFTA-Central American Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 22 June 2015 in Schaan, Liechtenstein. Guatemala is the first country to accede to this FTA, which will further enhance the economic ties and promote trade and investment between the EFTA States and Guatemala“. (EFTA, 2015)

Full details available at: <http://www.efta.int/Free-Trade/news/EFTA-and-Central-American-States-sign-Protocol-Accession-Guatemala-EFTA-Central-America-Free-Trade-Agreement-60201>

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Negotiations: Caught between Myth and Reality?

EUROPE – May 28, 2015

On the 27th of May 2015, CIDOB, in collaboration with the United States Consulate General in Barcelona and the support of the Europe for Citizens program, organized a seminar on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The seminar was coordinated by Professor Sangeeta Khorana from Bournemouth University, and attended by Former US Trade Negotiator and Ambassador Shaun Donelly, Lars Nilsson from the European Commission, and other eminent people from the academia and activist organisations.

See details on:

<http://www.cidob.org/en/news/regions/europe/ttip_negotiations_caught_between_myth_and_reality>

 

GAPSYM9: Trading places. The role of trade with Africa (Deadline 1 August 2015)

Potential topics include, but are certainly not limited to, analyzing the impact of

  • the diverse effects of treaties with Africa;
  • trade or development policies conceived by nation states, multilateral organizations or NGO’s;
  • specific economic mechanisms such as micro-financing and fair trade;
  • issues of land grabbing;
  • the proliferation of informal vs formal trade;

on:

  • political policy making and urban development planning;
  • changes in the built or natural environment;
  • physical and psychosocial well-being, particularly of vulnerable groups or minority populations;
  • changing socio-cultural patterns, behavior and conceptions of modernity;
  • the role and responsibility between trade partners, the state, and private citizens;
  • the reactions and responses within different groups of societal actors.

Click here for call-for-papers