International Trade Law and International Investment Law: Recognising Complexity, Developing Coherence. International trade and investment treaties contain overlapping provisions that have been subject to divergent interpretations by tribunals settling associated disputes. Proliferation of such treaties has created conflicting obligations, significant uncertainty for states and businesses, and an increasing potential for government liability. Through a comparative study of targeted countries, le ....International Trade Law and International Investment Law: Recognising Complexity, Developing Coherence. International trade and investment treaties contain overlapping provisions that have been subject to divergent interpretations by tribunals settling associated disputes. Proliferation of such treaties has created conflicting obligations, significant uncertainty for states and businesses, and an increasing potential for government liability. Through a comparative study of targeted countries, legal concepts and sectors, this project reconceptualises the fields of international trade and investment law in order to maximise their coherence. By providing a framework for reform of existing treaties and negotiation of future treaties, the project offers concrete benefits for government and industry through increased consistency and predictability.Read moreRead less
International Trade, Income Distribution and Welfare. In an era of growing international integration, the measurement of aggregate gains from globalization and their distribution is a major policy concern. While it is natural to think of policy makers as designing policy in response to the distribution of income, the fact that firms may also want to exploit the same information has received less attention. This omission is important since firms routinely utilise such information when designing p ....International Trade, Income Distribution and Welfare. In an era of growing international integration, the measurement of aggregate gains from globalization and their distribution is a major policy concern. While it is natural to think of policy makers as designing policy in response to the distribution of income, the fact that firms may also want to exploit the same information has received less attention. This omission is important since firms routinely utilise such information when designing products and setting prices, resulting in very different welfare outcomes across income groups. This project develops a framework that incorporates this aspect of firm behaviour to re-evaluate the implications of globalization, especially how it affects the distribution of gains and losses. Read moreRead less
Revisiting Australia’s preferential trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties to safeguard regulatory autonomy. This project critically evaluates Australia’s free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties in the light of recent national and international experience. Its recommendations for systematically revising existing agreements and refining approaches to negotiating new agreements will assist in protecting Australian policy space.
A Neo-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Trade with Endogenous Production Patterns. The ongoing debate regarding the expected benefits of the recent trade agreement with the United States exemplifies that few aspects of international trade are well understood. Using inframarginal analysis, an approach developed by co-investigator 1, we expect to be able to advance our understanding in this field by producing what is arguably the most generalised model of trade. This will constitute an important accomplish ....A Neo-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Trade with Endogenous Production Patterns. The ongoing debate regarding the expected benefits of the recent trade agreement with the United States exemplifies that few aspects of international trade are well understood. Using inframarginal analysis, an approach developed by co-investigator 1, we expect to be able to advance our understanding in this field by producing what is arguably the most generalised model of trade. This will constitute an important accomplishment that is likely to attract both international academic interest and international research funds to Australian research. In addition, as our model will be calibrated on the basis of our domestic production characteristics, our work will shed light on the socially optimum trade policy directions for Australia.Read moreRead less
ASEAN+3 Free Trade Agreement and Its Impact on Australia-Vietnam Trade. The ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and Korea) free trade agreement endorsed by ASEAN Leaders in 2001 poses a serious trade diversion threat to Australia's goods and services trade to ASEAN and North Asia (reaching $33.9b and $85.0b respectively in 2001, see DFAT 2003). No research on this has been done or reported. The project, with Vietnam Institute for Trade collaboration, uses new analytical and empirical approaches to investigate ....ASEAN+3 Free Trade Agreement and Its Impact on Australia-Vietnam Trade. The ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and Korea) free trade agreement endorsed by ASEAN Leaders in 2001 poses a serious trade diversion threat to Australia's goods and services trade to ASEAN and North Asia (reaching $33.9b and $85.0b respectively in 2001, see DFAT 2003). No research on this has been done or reported. The project, with Vietnam Institute for Trade collaboration, uses new analytical and empirical approaches to investigate this FTA and its implications to Australia's trade to a major ASEAN country, namely Vietnam, where 2002 trade reached $2.8b and Australia's global companies (eg. ANZ, Telstra, RMIT) currently have large operation.Read moreRead less
The World Trade Organisation and the future of the multilateral trade system. Using a qualitative methodology to investigate the views of trade policy communities in the major players in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this project investigates how the WTO can be adapted and strengthened to meet 21st century trade policy challenges. A major outcome will be a deeper understanding of what ails the WTO and how it can be reformed.
China's Exports and Growth and Major East Asia Summit Economies - Exploring Regional Impact and Policy Responses. The project benefits Australia's current long-term economic priorities and engagement with Asia in five ways. It provides: (1) collaborative research with East Asia Summit (EAS) networked experts on topics of mutual interest, (2) a new perspective on the effects of China on EAS4 trade and growth, (3) substantive improved findings on EAS4 economic and trade policy options, (4) signifi ....China's Exports and Growth and Major East Asia Summit Economies - Exploring Regional Impact and Policy Responses. The project benefits Australia's current long-term economic priorities and engagement with Asia in five ways. It provides: (1) collaborative research with East Asia Summit (EAS) networked experts on topics of mutual interest, (2) a new perspective on the effects of China on EAS4 trade and growth, (3) substantive improved findings on EAS4 economic and trade policy options, (4) significant inputs to analysis, debates and negotiations in the recently proposed EAS free trade agreement (FTA), and (5) useful applications to Australia's similar bilateral FTAs under negotiation (e.g., Australia-Korea and Japan FTAs).Read moreRead less
The New Politics of Trade: Complexity, Innovation and Policy Development in the Asia Pacific Region. In Australia and the Asia Pacific region the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements has become a central element of the foreign economic policies of many countries. The outcomes of the project will have particular relevance for Australia: understanding how our trade partners determine their trade agendas, and being able to identify potential allies and obstacles to ....The New Politics of Trade: Complexity, Innovation and Policy Development in the Asia Pacific Region. In Australia and the Asia Pacific region the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements has become a central element of the foreign economic policies of many countries. The outcomes of the project will have particular relevance for Australia: understanding how our trade partners determine their trade agendas, and being able to identify potential allies and obstacles to the securing of bilateral trade agreements, is crucial for the successful negotiation and conclusion of trade agreements. This project will contribute to our understanding of how the processes of globalization are reconfiguring interactions between government, business and civil society both within and across national boundaries. Read moreRead less
The fundamental importance of foreign direct investment to Australia in the 21st century: Reforming treaty and dispute resolution practice. This project will evaluate the economic and legal risks associated with the Australian Government’s current policy on investor-state dispute settlement through multidisciplinary research, namely econometric modeling, empirical research through stakeholder surveys and interviews, as well as critical analysis of case law, treaties and regulatory approaches. Th ....The fundamental importance of foreign direct investment to Australia in the 21st century: Reforming treaty and dispute resolution practice. This project will evaluate the economic and legal risks associated with the Australian Government’s current policy on investor-state dispute settlement through multidisciplinary research, namely econometric modeling, empirical research through stakeholder surveys and interviews, as well as critical analysis of case law, treaties and regulatory approaches. The aim of this project is to identify optimal methods of investor-state dispute prevention, avoidance and resolution that efficiently cater to inbound and outbound investors as well as Australia as a whole. The goal is to promote a positive climate for investment inflows and outflows, while maintaining Australia's ability to take sovereign decisions on matters of public policy.Read moreRead less
International Law and the Cold War. This project is about international law and the Cold War. It seeks to re-read international law and the Cold War as mutually constitutive in a ground-breaking reconceptualisation of contemporary international law as a product of the Cold War, and the Cold War as a juridical category. It will produce the first history and theory of the relationship between international law and the Cold War. This new history will contribute to wider debates about the future of ....International Law and the Cold War. This project is about international law and the Cold War. It seeks to re-read international law and the Cold War as mutually constitutive in a ground-breaking reconceptualisation of contemporary international law as a product of the Cold War, and the Cold War as a juridical category. It will produce the first history and theory of the relationship between international law and the Cold War. This new history will contribute to wider debates about the future of the international legal and diplomatic order. This is particularly relevant now, when emerging global divisions threaten to repeat the ideological enmity and paranoia that was a feature of the Cold War period.Read moreRead less