Trade & Regional Integration

Preferential Trade & Investment Arrangements

Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are key to today's highly dynamic international trade landscape. As of January 2025, 373 PTAs were in force. PTAs increasingly include "deep" trade commitments, covering a range of issues such as intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, sustainable development, digital provisions, energy and critical raw materials.

TULIP advises governments and regional bodies on how to enhance regional integration and address the challenges that come with it. Specifically, TULIP’s work in this area focuses on Free Trade Agreements, and other integration models such as issues related to negotiations, design and implementation of various free trade agreements. Geographically, TULIP’s work in this area focuses on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Trade & Investment Partnerships

FTA negotiations

EU Free Trade Agreements

African regional integration

PROJECTS

Africa Climate Foundation/London School of Economics

Analyzing how African countries can leverage the WTO to adequately respond to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms.

The World Bank

Deep Trade Agreements

Working on the Deep Trade Agreements database, including updating the database by coding 25 new regional trade agreements, and providing country-specific analysis based on the database identifying how a country performs with respect to trade liberalization parameters relevant to other countries

Europe Jacques Delors

Writing various policy papers analyzing how the EU can better link sustainability objectives with its trade policy and within regional trade agreements.

Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA

Project on circular innovation and ecodesign in the textiles sector

Conducting a study on the circular economy transition in the textiles sector, with a particular focus on taking onboard the needs of developing countries.

Click here to download the study.