TULIP Consulting Year in Review: 2025
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Trade in Transition: Building Sustainable Alliances in a Fragmenting Global Economy
2025 was a year of structural change in international trade. Most notably, the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” triggered significant disruption across global markets, with developing countries bearing a disproportionate share of the costs. Governments and firms alike have been forced to reassess competitive advantages and accelerate supply-chain de-risking strategies. At the same time, the turbulence has helped spur a renewed push for bilateral and regional trade agreements — most recently reflected in the conclusion of the EU–India Free Trade Agreement.
These shifts in the global trading system demand a fresh approach to building win-win alliances — ones that align trade, climate, and development objectives rather than treating them as competing priorities. Although political momentum behind sustainability has softened, it remains firmly in countries’ long-term self-interest, as TULIP has argued here, to pursue ambitious sustainable development strategies. The challenge now is to design practical, politically viable cooperation models that advance sustainability while supporting industrial policy and national security goals.
One promising pathway lies in new partnership frameworks that link trade and investment in clean supply chains. As we argued in our recent policy brief, in partnership with Europe Jaques Delors, Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs) — the first of which has been concluded between the EU and South Africa — offer a platform for deeper bilateral cooperation in clean industries, provided that developing-country priorities are fully integrated into their design. TULIP is also examining Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements (SIFAs) as another emerging model, as part of ongoing advisory work. In parallel, our joint working paper with the OECD’s Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment explores practical ways to strengthen the effectiveness of environmental goods lists in free trade agreements.
As the world's fastest-growing economy and home to a sixth of humanity, India can certainly not be ignored. EU–India trade and climate cooperation has been a central focus of TULIP’s work in 2025. Against the backdrop of FTA negotiations, our team conducted extensive field research across India, engaging public- and private-sector stakeholders to assess how trade cooperation can support decarbonization of the Indian steel sector. Our forthcoming findings, to be published at the end of March at a Delhi-based launch event, highlight the heterogeneous impact of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): while the instrument will create significant market-access challenges for Indian exporting SMEs, the implications for large steel producers will be minimal. From a climate perspective, CBAM alone is unlikely to drive steel decarbonization in India. Therefore, more effective win-win solutions will require cooperation on technology co-development and transfer, improved access to scrap steel, and targeted investment facilitation for cleaner supply chains.
Steel trade policy challenges extend beyond CBAM. In a new policy paper, and in partnership with Europe Jacques Delors, TULIP has analyzed the cumulative effects of EU sustainability rules and trade defense instruments. Our research highlights the risk that an increasingly complex “spaghetti bowl” of green and defensive measures could partially close the EU market to foreign steel — ultimately undermining the very sustainability objectives these measures seek to advance. Regulatory misalignment also poses risks: restrictions on steel scrap exports, for example, may slow decarbonization in partner countries that depend on imported scrap as a low-cost emissions-reduction pathway.
The circular economy remains another core pillar of TULIP’s work. This year, our team partnered with the International Trade Centre to reduce post-industrial waste in textile and apparel factories in Jordan. We are also closely tracking and analyzing the development of textile standards under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and contributing input to the EU legislative process on extended producer responsibility requirements in the sector.
Finally, our 2025 research continues to focus on Africa. Recent publications include an in-depth analysis of EU forest policy and the EUDR and their implications for African producers; academic contributions to an LSE volume examining how the WTO and Africa's continental trade rules affect food security; and a series of policy briefs for the African Climate Foundation on industrial policy, sustainability, and the multilateral trading system.
TULIP’s growing impact reflects the strength of its team and partnerships. In 2025, we were honored to welcome Cláudia Azevedo as our Brussels-based representative, leading our EU trade policy portfolio. We also benefited from Sneha Singh's expertise, who supported our work on steel decarbonization and CBAM. Special thanks go to Sanvid Tuljapurkar for outstanding leadership of our India work, and to Sunayana Sasmal and Gabriela Alcantara Torres for their continued support and commitment across projects. A special shout-out also to advisory board member Marianne Kettunen, for continued guidance and support as we navigate how to maximize impact in a rapidly shifting global landscape.
We are also deeply grateful to our partners and clients for their continued trust. We look forward to building on this work together — advancing trade frameworks that are not only more resilient, but also more equitable and sustainable.
Colette van der Ven, Executive Director
January 2026, Geneva
2025 Publications
A new era of EU mini trade deals?
The EU's Clean Industrial Deal introduced Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs), a flexible tool for partner engagement. The EU concluded negotiations of its first-ever CTIP with South Africa at the end of last year. This new partnership model aims to help the EU navigate the current geopolitical context while accessing strategic markets, critical raw materials, and clean technology and energy. Drawing on best practices, this discussion paper, published in collaboration with Europe Jacques Delors, outlines policy options for the Commission as negotiations begin, focusing on strategic prioritization, scope, legal nature, commitments, monitoring and enforcement, and governance. Click here to read the paper.
Greening Indian Steel through Trade: Insights from TULIP's India Trip
TULIP Consulting is working on a project to explore how trade and investment can be leveraged to decarbonize the Indian steel sector, the world's second-largest after China. This blog shares key insights based on meetings held during the team's May 2025 trip to India. These findings reflect stakeholder consultations with large steel producers such as Tata Steel and Jindal Steel and Power Limited, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), industry associations, and high-level government officials from the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Click here to read the blog.
How Africa eats: Trade, food security and climate risks
TULIP contributed to two chapters in a book published by LSE Press. The book explains why Africa struggles with food security and what can be done about it, with a focus on the issues at the intersection of trade, agriculture policies, and climate risks. The chapters authored by TULIP in this book focus on agricultural policies and climate risks, and on how the World Trade Organization (Chapter 9) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) (Chapter 7) can be leveraged to strengthen food security in Africa. Click here to read the book.
Delivering on forest governance in a transactional world: A menu of options for Von der Leyen II
This report, commissioned by Fern, examines how the European Commission can improve its approach to international forest governance, including the Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR), to better align with the interests of producer countries amid evolving global and institutional priorities. Based on an analysis of the EU's evolving approach to international forest governance and interviews with stakeholders in key producing countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the report presents policy options for the Commission's consideration. Click here to read the paper.
Exploring synergies between environmental labelling and standards, and trade in environmental goods
Over the last few decades, policies to promote environmental goods and sustainable supply chains have proliferated. At the same time, many trade agreements seek to reduce trade barriers for a list of identified environmental goods. This OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper, co-authored by Colette van der Ven and Shunta Yamaguchi, examines how environmental and trade policy approaches to incentivizing the adoption of environmental goods and sustainable supply chains can be mutually supportive. Click here to read the working paper.
Trade and Climate Sustainability Briefs 2025
TULIP contributed two briefs: one analyzing Africa’s offensive and defensive green trade interests as articulated in the WTO context, and another summarizing the sustainability outcomes of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference and their implications for Africa. The briefs were published by the African Climate Foundation and the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. Click here to read the document.
The costs of sustainability-driven regulations: Pathways for a fair distribution
As voluntary sustainability measures fall short of addressing climate and human rights concerns, countries are introducing mandatory sustainability regulations, which impose costs on businesses and nations, particularly in industrializing countries. This policy brief, co-authored by TULIP and UNIDO, analyzes the costs of compliance with sustainability regulations and identifies who bears the burden. It also highlights mechanisms for the fair distribution of costs. Click here to read the policy brief.
Inclusive Ecodesign Requirements for a Just Transition
The contribution to the Synergies series of TESS examines the external impacts of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, with a focus on the steel, textile, and apparel sectors. It highlights that while the regulation can drive more sustainable value chains, it will also have significant trade implications that vary across trading partners. It argues that these impacts must be assessed alongside other EU measures such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Waste Shipment Regulation, and that minimizing trade friction will require interoperable standards and early, meaningful engagement with partner countries. Click here to read the blog.
Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships: Unpacking the EU-South Africa CTIP
This blog, written in collaboration with Europe Jacques Delors, examines the launch of the EU-South Africa Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP), the EU’s first such partnership, aimed at promoting strategic engagement on critical raw materials, clean energy, and clean technologies. The blog argues CTIPs should be legally binding, include enforceable sustainability commitments, support domestic as well as export markets, and coordinate with existing initiatives to maximize benefits for both people and the planet. Click here to read the blog.
Matching green industrialization ambitions in Africa and Europe: 3 proposals in the run-up to the AU-EU Summit
This blog, co-authored by Cláudia Azevedo and published by IDDRI, examines recent developments in EU-Africa relations. It argues that long-term competitiveness requires moving beyond transactional trade to combine exports with domestic development, and emphasizes the need for new partnership models, such as Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements and the EU–South Africa Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships. Click here to read the blog.
Media Engagements
The EU-India FTA: A new model linking trade, climate, and industrial policy?
Colette van der Ven, Borderlex
This op-ed discusses the recently concluded India-EU free trade agreements, arguing that while the deal contains fewer binding climate provisions than the EU agreements, it establishes a pragmatic "new model" for aligning trade and industrial policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Agenda (2026–2030) could serve as a platform for decarbonizing heavy industries such as steel, though its success depends on substantial resource allocation and political will. Click here to read the op-ed.
What does the EU carbon border tax mean for green steel?
Colette van der Ven, Cláudia Azevedo, Sanvid Tuljapurkar, Financial Times Sustainable Views
In this op-ed for the Financial Times' Sustainable Views, TULIP Consulting discusses the impact of the December 2025 CBAM scope expansion and other key developments on EU trading partners. The op-ed highlights how recent developments will create significant challenges for exporting SMEs in the steel and aluminium sectors. The op-ed further highlights that these measures form part of a larger regulatory puzzle - particularly for energy-intensive strategic goods like steel - that renders EU market access increasingly complex, costly, and uncertain. Click here to read the op-ed.
Brussels is creating a green spaghetti bowl of regulation
In a Financial Times letter responding to an article on the Brussels Effect backfiring, Colette van der Ven, together with ODI’s Jodie Keane, argues that this outcome stems not only from regulatory overreach but also from value-chain ignorance and rising industrial protectionism. Click here to read the letter.
Is the new EU-India Strategic Agenda a victory for decarbonizing steel?
This op-ed highlights and analyzes the implications of the draft EU-India strategic agenda on steel decarbonization in India. It argues that, although the agenda aims to strengthen cooperation on CBAM, it does not provide a meaningful basis for reducing CBAM exposure for India’s steel sector, particularly SMEs. It also notes that the agenda prioritizes EU demand-side measures while failing to address India’s key supply-side constraints to steel decarbonization, which should be central to future EU–India cooperation. Click here to read the op-ed.
Enlightened interest: The EU should support poor countries hit by Trump tariffs
This op-ed outlines actions the EU can take to mitigate the impact of the Trump administration's "reciprocal" tariffs on Least Developed Countries, which are disproportionately affected. It argues that it is in the EU's self-interest to fill the soft-power vacuum created by the Trump administration's actions. Click here to read the op-ed.
Colette van der Ven quoted in the Financial Times and BBC on the implications of Trump's tariffs on Lesotho and Africa
In an article written by Alan Beattie in the Financial Times, Colette highlights the vulnerability of many trade-preference-enabled garment exporters, who failed to develop strong linkages within the domestic economy. In another Financial Times article and for the BBC, Colette highlights the absurdity of the US's initial 50% tariffs on Lesotho, which have significantly disrupted the country's garment industry.
Fact-finding missions
TULIP Stakeholder Consultations in India for Study on Trade and Steel Decarbonization
This year, TULIP began an in-depth study focused on Indian steel decarbonization and the role of trade. It zooms in on CBAM, the EU carbon border levy, and identifies shifting narratives around CBAM. The study, to be published at a launch event in Delhi at the end of March 2026, highlights heterogeneous implications of CBAM, with larger, greener firms being minimally affected compared with smaller, more carbon-intensive firms. It also examines the implications of other EU regulations for Indian steel exports, such as the upcoming permanent steel safeguard, and how the recently concluded EU-India FTA and Strategic Framework could catalyze Indian steel decarbonization beyond CBAM.
To inform the research, Colette van der Ven and Sanvid Tuljapurkar conducted several field visits to India and conducted over 70 stakeholder interviews. The TULIP team met senior government officials from the Ministry of Steel, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in Delhi. They also engaged with industry leaders from Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, JSW Steel, and Jindal Stainless Steel, as well as MSMEs, industry associations, civil society, and academia.
Beyond Delhi, TULIP visited Kolkata, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Mumbai, and Pune to better understand regional challenges and opportunities across India’s steel sector, including a visit to Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant, the country’s oldest steel facility. The team also met with Jharkhand’s Just Transition Task Force, India’s first, to examine the socio-economic implications of steel decarbonization. In parallel, TULIP conducted virtual stakeholder consultations with experts in Europe and the United States to situate its findings within the broader global steel decarbonization landscape and identify transition opportunities for India.
TULIP's Jordan visit for ITC's MENATEX project
In November 2025, Colette van der Ven and Cláudia Azevedo travelled to Amman, Jordan, to support the International Trade Centre’s MENATEX project, working with national partners to advance circular value chains in the textile sector through trade and investment policy. Through meetings with ministries, industry, and civil society, and a capacity-building session on evolving EU sustainability requirements, the team helped identify pathways for Jordanian textile producers to scale sustainably, implement circular practices, and access new export markets. TULIP looks forward to continuing its collaboration in 2026.
Selected Events
World Resources Forum 2025 Plenary session: Trading in Transition: Can supply chain security and sustainability coexist?
Colette van der Ven examined the tension between sustainability goals and the security of critical mineral supply chains amid geopolitical rivalry. She also highlighted the differing priorities of developing countries seeking domestic processing and developed countries pursuing their own targets, emphasizing the opportunity for resource-rich countries to negotiate deals aligned with development objectives and the need for integrated approaches that link financing to trade and investment commitments. You can watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/-lhvN6SwXJY
Expert Roundtable on Aligning Climate Goals and Trade Instruments to Green Indian Steel
On the margins of the 2025 WTO Public Forum, TULIP Consulting organized an expert roundtable to present preliminary findings from its ongoing work on the impact of CBAM on the Indian steel sector and the role of trade in supporting its decarbonization. The discussion drew strong interest from participants representing the WTO, ITC, TESS, IISD, Goyder Ltd, and the Geneva Platform for Resilient Value Chains, among others.
UNECE Resource Management Week Side Event, Geneva Dialogue for Minerals and Metals
Colette van der Ven spoke at a UNECE Resource Management Week side event on the challenges and opportunities of mineral and metal circularity. Drawing on TULIP’s OVAM-commissioned report advocating for an EU Resource Law, she highlighted how such a framework could strengthen economic resilience and reduce reliance on third countries in line with the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal priorities. Click here to watch the recording of the event.
Rethinking EU partnerships - crafting an attractive offer to the Global South, Rethinking Europe podcast, Europe Jacques Delors
Colette van der Ven appeared on the Rethinking Europe podcast, co-hosted by Cláudia Azevedo, which explores whether the EU can build stronger partnerships with developing countries and emerging economies to achieve its climate goals. Through her interventions, she examined the EU’s evolving approach to securing raw materials, clean energy, and technology, and questioned how initiatives such as free trade agreements and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships can deliver credible, mutually beneficial outcomes in a competitive geopolitical landscape. Click here to access the podcast.
EU Mercosur Trade Deal: What Lies Ahead?, Europe Jacques Delors
Colette van der Ven participated in a webinar hosted by Europe Jacques Delors and FGV, unpacking recent developments in the EU-Mercosur trade agreements. The discussion focused on the revised commitments on trade and sustainability added to the free trade agreement, their interplay with evolving EU regulatory measures, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and the prospects for the parties to ratify the deal in the current political context. Click here to watch the webinar.
4th Trade for Peace Week, WTO
At the WTO’s 4th Trade for Peace Week, Colette van der Ven discussed how climate-related trade measures can better support women entrepreneurs in fragile economies. She stressed the need to expand trade opportunities by addressing barriers to trade, including business registration, access to finance, intellectual property, preferential tariffs, and regulatory compliance, while ensuring that the growing focus on domestic competitiveness does not leave these entrepreneurs behind. Click here to watch the recording of the event.
How Africa Eats: Trade, Food Security and Climate Risks, WTO Public Forum
Colette van der Ven participated in an LSE-organized panel at the WTO Public Forum to present findings from the book "How Africa Eats: Trade, Food Security and Climate Risks", alongside David Luke of the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. She focused on agricultural policies and climate risks, highlighting how the World Trade Organization and the African Continental Free Trade Area can be leveraged to strengthen Africa’s food security. Click here to access the audio recording of the session.
European Diplomacy Week, European Economic and Social Committee
Colette van der Ven participated in a panel on the future of multilateralism and the importance of meaningful EU partnerships in a challenging geopolitical context at the European Public Diplomacy Week in Brussels. She focused on the role partnerships can play in creating win-win outcomes for the EU and its trading partners, ensuring that sustainable development considerations are not overlooked. The recording is available here.
LSE Africa Summit 2025, LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa
Colette van der Ven participated in the 2025 LSE Africa Summit to discuss the impact of EU green trade measures on African countries. She highlighted that these issues are crucial following the US's reciprocal tariff announcement and focused on the implications of EU green trade measures, such as CBAM and the EUDR, for African countries.
Workshop on Comparative Trade Law, Georgetown University and Swiss Institute of Comparative Law
As part of an ongoing book project by Profs. Kathleen Claussen and Rodrigo Polanco, TULIP's Colette van der Ven and Sanvid Tuljapurkar participated in a workshop on comparative trade law at Georgetown University. They presented ongoing work on how CBAM is reshaping the global trade landscape, creating winners and losers both across and within countries, using India’s steel sector as a case study. During the visit, they also engaged with Georgetown Law students at an event organized by the Center for Inclusive Trade and Development, and Colette delivered a guest lecture in TULIP's Advisory Board Member Katrin Kuhlmann’s course on international trade, development, and the common good, focusing on the development implications of the EU’s green trade measures.
Webinar: Dialogue on Global Trade, Industrial Policies and Climate Negotiations, African Climate Foundation/LSE
26 June 2025
Colette van der Ven was a featured speaker at a webinar hosted by the African Climate Foundation and the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. The webinar explored the intersection of global trade, industrial policy, and climate negotiations in shaping outcomes for Africa. The discussion focused on Africa's urgent need to industrialise, integrate into global value chains, and transition to low-carbon economies - while ensuring equitable and inclusive growth. Colette shared insights on CBAM and broader approaches to EU-Africa partnerships. You can watch the full webinar here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seFr_135bW8&t=55s
Supporting the ITC Arise Plus Project in the Philippines
Colette van der Ven has been supporting the ITC's Arise Plus project in the Philippines during EU-Philippines FTA negotiations. She has presented at five webinars on various FTA issues, including procurement, intellectual property, SMEs, competition, sustainability, and related topics.
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