The foundations of the multilateral trading system have been shaken. Petros Mavroidis argues that reviving the WTO will require a determined effort from the key stakeholders to address issues that the membership has previously avoided

Thematic sanctions are being increasingly used as a foreign policy tool. Henrietta Worthington and Jaime Rosenberg consider the benefits and challenges for multinational organisations operating across jurisdictions

The Trump administration imposed ‘reciprocal tariffs’ using powers granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Gene Grossman and Alan Sykes argue that the tariffs do not meet two core requirements for the exercise of emergency powers under the Act

In 2025 the US government underwent a large fiscal switch. Kimberly Clausing and Maurice Obstfeld evaluate tariffs as a broad tool of fiscal policy, reviewing both tax policy and macroeconomic considerations, and concludes that this fiscal switch will leave most Americans worse off

The economic and political gaps between China and the West is one of the defining challenges of the modern era. Avner Greif, Joel Mokyr and Guido Tabellini argue that institutions and culture played a key role in setting Europe and China on divergent paths well before the onset of the Industrial Revolution

There is a steel overcapacity problem. Ignacio García Bercero considers a European Commission proposal for a tight quota and high steel tariffs that risks undermining perceptions of the European Union as a reliable trading partner