ifo Schnelldienst 1/2024: Foreign Trade In Transition

Foreign Trade In Transition – New Strategic Partnerships for Germany and the EU

The European Union is heavily involved in global trade and benefits from this international networking. However, recent years have revealed new risks associated with this strong network, e.g. regional dependencies in relation to strategically important goods. The Russian attack on Ukraine has put the spotlight on this. In addition, the WTO-centered multilateral trade order is losing importance and protectionism is on the rise worldwide. Against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions between Western democracies and the BRICS states Russia and China, the further development of trade relations with countries such as India could play a greater role. At the same time, the countries of the global South are emerging with a new self-confidence, which is reflected in the BRICS expansion, while the EU is increasingly demanding sustainable action from its partner countries in the context of the Green New Deal. Can trade and climate policy be considered together? What are the prospects for trade with India and China? Does the German export model need to be put to the test?

With contributions from:

• Hanns-Günther Hilpert and Bettina Rudloff, EU-Handelspolitik: Die neue Nachhaltigkeitsfalle für handelspolitische Partnerschaften
• Philipp M. Richter and Joschka Wanner, Die EU muss Handels- und Klimapolitik zusammen denken
• Isabella Gourevich, Dorothee Hillrichs and Camille Semelet, Indien – auf dem Weg in die Zukunft
• Timo Walter, Indien im Aufschwung – neuer Impulsgeber für die deutsche Wirtschaft?
• Markus Taube, Anmerkungen zur neuen politischen Ökonomie der deutsch-chinesischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen
• Volker Treier, Corona, De-Coupling und Zeitenwende: Deutsches Exportmodell auf dem Prüfstand