The Office of the United States Trade Representative recently stepped back from ongoing negotiations on digital trade at the World Trade Organization, citing unsettled domestic policy, and suspended support for digital trade rules in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework too. But if the U.S. wants to be a part of the conversation, it should reengage and help craft rules flexible enough to meet its future domestic policy needs, writes nonresident fellow Simon Lester.
At least a dozen countries, including the U.S., have suspended funding to the United Nations agency that delivers aid to Palestinian refugees. The cuts fit a long-time pattern of the politicization of refugee aid, write Nicholas R. Micinski and Kelsey Norman.
Nicholas R. Micinski, Kelsey NormanFebruary 1, 2024
Despite recent claims that “free trade is dead,” fellow Simon Lester explains that America was never close to anything resembling free trade in the first place. Instead, current U.S. trade policy, just like past policy, reflects a messy mix of free market and industrial policy views.
With the recent enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, the conversation about industrial policy has started up again. Are state-directed economic policies back, and will such initiatives work?
"Creating a global norm for PPA transparency is a zero-cost step to help provide energy for everyone and deliver on the low carbon future we all need," write the authors. Read their post about power purchase agreements on the Baker Institute Blog.
This article originally appeared in the Forbes blog on June 1, 2022.
Last month, China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for the energy sector. While clean and low-carbon may be the keywords on paper, in reality, Beijing will continue rely on coal to power its economy and energy transitions, writes the author. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.
Fellow Kelsey Norman edited the Winter 2021 issue of the Digest of Middle East Studies, focused on how migration in the Middle East has changed in the ten years since the Arab uprisings. Read her introduction here.