The new Trumpian tariffs are not the familiar protectionism G7 nations have applied for decades. Instead of shielding particular sectors, they wall off the entire American goods-producing economy from foreign competition. This is precisely the logic of 20th-century import substitution industrialisation – a strategy widely tried, and widely abandoned, because it raised costs, bred inefficiency, […]
Global export competitiveness is rapidly evolving. This column presents a novel granular decomposition of export market share changes into demand and supply effects. Applied to Germany, it reveals steep supply‑side losses in medium-/high‑tech and energy‑intensive goods driving recent market share declines. Meanwhile, China continues to gain competitiveness in medium-/high‑tech exports, even as adverse demand pulls […]
How should the European Union budget be revamped to meet the pressing collective challenges of climate change, competitiveness, defence, enlargement and response to unforeseen shocks? This Blueprint evaluates the extent to which current spending goes to European public goods and identifies significant misalignments between budget allocations and areas in which EU-level provision offers the greatest […]
Europe has recently pivoted to regulatory simplification with the aim to boost competitiveness. This column argues that in banking the debate needs to go beyond competitiveness and be embedded within a broader strategic vision fit for the new geopolitical context. The broader vision should consider the dependence on the US dollar-centric financial system, the increasing […]
