Trade Policy Decoded

Back from travels to Southeast Asia and Taiwan, Peter and Pru regroup to speak to Jay Meek, Austrade’s General Manager for the Trade Diversification Taskforce. Jay walks Trade Policy Decoded listeners through the work of the Taskforce, why it was established and how it is helping Australian trading businesses manage international market risk. Jay talks about the new partnerships Austrade and other...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru host Professor Henry Gao, a trade expert and Professor of Law at Singapore Management University. As a review of recent global and trade-world developments, discussion looks into the Reciprocal Tariffs Act and its effects, both temporary and lasting, on trade dynamics between the U.S. and its partners. Honing in on Australia’s neighbourhood, t...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru host Jason Collins, CEO of the European Australian Business Council, to discuss the recently concluded Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Australia. The discussion explores the road to launching, and then concluding, the FTA, the benefits of the agreement, and what the FTA means for Australia. It also touches on the difficult...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru investigate the latest developments in digital trade with two special guests, Pascal Kerneis, Founder and Managing Director of the European Services Forum, and Jane Drake-Brockman, Founder and Director of the Australian Services Roundtable. Pascal and Jane explain the e-commerce-related outcomes from the World Trade Organisation’s 14th Ministe...

In this week’s episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru host Ken Ash in discussing Canadian and Australian responses to the changing behaviour of major global trading powers. Ken is a visiting fellow at the Institute of International Trade, and has served as the Director General of Economic and Policy Analysis with the Canadian Government, and as Director of Trade and Agriculture at the OECD...

In this episode of TPD, Peter and Pru talk to David Latina, Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commissioner, about the work of the ADC. The episode delves into the basics of the ADC’s purpose, operations and how business can access ADC services. The discussion explores how the ADC balances various competing interests, especially importers vs domestic interests, the recourse aggrieved parties have to legisla...

In this week’s instalment of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter host special guest Professor Elizabeth Thurbon to discuss the importance of Green Energy to Australia and newly emerging concepts in Green Energy Statecraft. Having opened and Directed UNSW’s Green Energy Statecraft Project, Professor Thurbon has explored these concepts in depth and provides potential methods that Australia may be ab...

In this first episode for 2026, Peter and Pru look at the key developments likely to impact trade policy in the coming year. They break these down into three areas. The first is US domestic factors likely to constrain President Trump’s trade unilateralism. These include US inflation, US bond and stock market fluctuations, the US Supreme Court’s decision on the President’s use of IEEPA powers to im...

Looking back on the year that has been, this episode looks at the key trade policy developments in 2025 – a year dominated by radical shifts in US trade policy. Peter and Pru review some US trade data points to try and identify the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on trade and the extent to which what was predicted came to pass. They then turn to China’s response – the impact of US tariffs on C...

In this instalment of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru host Cherelle Murphy, EY Regional Chief Economist, Oceania, and Luke Branson, EY Partner and Oceania Global Trade Leader. Cherelle and Luke provide some awesome insights into the real-world impacts of the current trade disruption as well as the tools they are using to forecast impacts. The discussion begins with an outline of EY’s recent mo...

In this instalment of Trade Policy Decoded Pru and Peter dive into the future of EU-Australia relations and how this field is evolving in today’s changing geopolitical landscapes. Based off of their recent discussions in Bologna, Italy, Trade Policy Decoded brings back insights from forum discussions in mapping possible trajectories for relationships between Australia and the European Union. From...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru talk to Australia’s Ambassador to the WTO, James Baxter, on a range of issues facing the organisation and WTO member responses to President Trump’s trade policies. They canvas WTO member outreach via the Public Forum and key themes discussed at this year’s Forum, critical challenges facing the WTO, the WTO reform agenda, scope for securing new...

Standing in Iraq beneath a banner reading ‘Mission Accomplished’, former President George W. Bush proclaimed that ‘major combat operations in Iraq have ended … the United States and our allies have prevailed’. This was 6-weeks after the U.S. bypassed the UN to unilaterally invade the country. It proved to be a dubious claim.   In this edition of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter look at what kin...

The PC’s Trade and Assistance Review (TAR) has measured the costs of tariffs, industry policy and other trade measures on the Australian economy for over 50 years.  The TAR’s importance has only increased with the trade chaos caused by President Trump and the revival of industry policy in Australia and elsewhere. In this episode of TPD, Pru and Peter speak to special guest Alex Robson, Deputy Chai...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru catch up on the latest developments coming out of the United States with a special focus on the Optimum Tariff Theory. The theory can certainly paint a rosy picture for the future of the US economy, but does it hold up against current data? And how might international trading partners react to the creation of such a policy? In answering this q...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter provide an update on key trade policy developments over the past fortnight. They delve into the implications of US domestic legal cases aimed at reversing President Trump's Liberation Day and fentanyl tariffs. They also look at other US domestic measures raising concerns for trade partners including budget measures targeting digital servic...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru host Fredrik Erixon, a Swedish economist and Founding Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), in discussing the future of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union's role in its future. Is it necessary for the EU to join the partnership explicit...

SPECIAL EPISODE - In this week's instalment of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru welcome Professor Lu Xiankun, a former senior trade diplomat of China, current Managing Director of the LEDECO Centre Switzerland, and Founder and CEO of the Friends of Multilateralism Group. Together, the team discusses how recent trade developments are beginning to be perceived in Geneva and the current challenges...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter and Pru dive further into the ramifications of the new Trumpian trade policies and their impacts on Australia and the world. The discussion covers some of the current and potential responses intended to deal with the impending 'reciprocal tariffs' being levied by the US, and how this may influence trade relationships between countries in the near-futu...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter discuss the implications of President Trump's 'Reciprocal Tariffs '. They outline what President Trump announced, the (very few and likely short lived) exemptions, what the tariffs are supposed to achieve, and the (un)likelihood of them ending any time soon. Peter and Pru also discuss what the new tariffs mean for countries in the...

In this instalment of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter Draper and Prudence Gordon discuss the chaotic state of U.S. policy under the Trump administration. They explore the implications of recent tariff announcements, Trump's potential long-game facing China, and the rest of the world's ongoing responses to the reorientation of U.S. foreign policy. The discussion highlights the challenges of navigating...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Peter Draper and Prudence Gordon discuss the evolving landscape of trade policy under the Trump administration as it enters 2025. They analyze the implications of Trump's Fair and Reciprocal Plan, the impact of tariffs on global trade, and the potential consequences for international relations and the WTO. The conversation also touches on Australia's positi...

As 2024 comes to a close, Pru and Peter look back on the key themes Trade Policy Decoded explored over the year - as well as their favourite episodes. Trade Policy Decoded is taking a break over Christmas and will be back in mid-Feb 2025 with more great discussion on hot trade issues - of which we expect there will be many! Until then, we wish all out listeners a wonderful Christmas and restful Ne...

In this episode of Trade Policy Decoded, Pru and Peter are joined by Professor Andreas Freytag from the Friedrich Schiller University to discuss the trade policy implications of a second Trump Presidency. The conversation traverses President Trump's promised new tariffs as well as the unresolved trade irritants from his first presidency; China's, the European Union's and Australia's possible respo...

Measures to reduce domestic carbon emissions at home can impose costs and regulatory requirements on businesses that aren't shared by their international competitors. This can encourage production to move from countries with high emissions reduction standards to countries with low standards - ie carbon leakage. The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is how the EU has tried to address t...