News archive

The end of the Pax Americana?

Legal dimensions and considerations of the USA tariff policy from a WTO law perspective

Read More

Empowering Climate Leadership Through International Collaboration with Malaysia

The Executive Program on Climate Action and Energy Transition, held in Bern, Switzerland earlier in April, brought together distinguished professionals from government, academia, and industry to deepen their engagement with the global climate and energy transition agenda.

Read More

What could "Liberation Day" mean for Switzerland?

Switzerland is famous for its cheese, chocolate and gold. The Trump Administration’s decision to impose a 31% tariff on Swiss goods seems largely driven by the trade deficit, specifically a formula based on the 2024 trade deficit.

Read More

Unfair trade, polar bears, penguins, and US bases

Hear Prof. Dr. Joe Francois' personal reflections regarding the new Trump tariffs.

Read More

The Limits of EU Integration Through Law? The Foundations Revisited: a landmark conference at the College of Europe

Read More

2025 WTI–CWS Joint Academy on International Trade Law and Economic Policy

Call for applications: The 2025 WTI–CWS Joint Academy represents a unique opportunity to enhance your knowledge and skills in international trade law and economic policy. We invite you to take the next step in your professional development by applying for this distinguished program.

Read More

Shaping Global Trade: Prof. Joe Francois is the new chair of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Scientific Council

The GTAP Scientific Council was formed in 2024 to explore new directions in global economic analysis and to broaden the scope of scientific contributions from the GTAP research community.

Read More

US Trade Policy: challenges & opportunities

This lecture from Prof. Dr. Joseph Francois, Managing Director of the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern, explored the evolving landscape of U.S. trade policy, focusing on its challenges and broader geopolitical implications.

Read More

The Global Economic Impact of Trump's Tariff War: Who Wins & Who Loses?

Since returning to the White House less than four weeks ago, the message from Donald Trump on trade appears to be tariffs, tariffs -- tariffs.

Read More

Governing Migration: Analysing Regional Migration Governance and Free Movement of Persons in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Congratulations to the World Trade Institute’s MILE 12 alumna Amanda Bisong for obtaining her PhD cum laude from Vrije University Amsterdam.

Read More

WTI Fellow Christian Häberli chairs USMCA Panel Ruling against Mexico in GM Corn Dispute

Read More

5th International Bachelor Summer School for Climate Change Research

Join us for the International Bachelor Summer School for Climate Change Research. This Summer School is designed for highly motivated bachelor students (semesters 4–6) who are passionate about climate change and currently enrolled in natural/climate sciences, economics, social sciences, or law takes place 4 - 15 August 2025 in Bern, …

Read More

U.S. Trade Policy under Trump: Insights from a European Perspective

Trade policy in the United States has undergone significant transformations over the past decades, often reflecting broader shifts in global geopolitics. Prof. Dr. Manfred Elsig visited Taiwan at the end of 2024 to discuss the potential impacts of the Trump Administration’s trade policy and other emerging trends with a range …

Read More

Global Data Flows x ‘Digital Trade Law’: Instruments, Institutions, and Infrastructures

Craig Atkinson, a WTI Non-Resident Fellow and Research Affiliate at the SMU Centre for Digital Law (CDL), outlines the structure and arguments of an upcoming white paper developed in collaboration with the University of Lucerne's Trade Law 4.0 project. The publication aims to spotlight how the principles of Data Free …

Read More

How do people react when countries break trade rules to carry out climate policies?

A new study from Manfred Elsig and Gabriele Spilker shows that Swiss citizens support various trade-related measures to achieve climate goals. The data shows that people expect the Swiss government to be in compliance with international agreements.

Read More

Meet Satish: WTI Alumni Stories

Meet Triplicane Damodaran (TD) Satish. Satish is a trade lawyer, and practicing trade remedy and customs law in India for over a decade before coming to the World Trade Institute. Having gained practical experience in WTO laws, Satish always wanted to do go back to school and learn the theoretical …

Read More

Insights on Sustainable Agricultural Trade

Wrapping Up 3.5 Years of the MATS Project

Read More

The Concept Design of a Twenty-First Century Preferential Trade Agreement

The Concept Design of a 21st Century Preferential Trade Agreement describes the current status and possible future evolution of trade agreements. The individual contributions provide fine-grained analyses of the various challenges trade agreements face and how these differ across countries. The book brings together leading researchers from international law and …

Read More

Meet Gauri: WTI Alumni Stories

Gauri Tyagi practiced as a commercial lawyer in India for almost 5 years, primarily focusing on admiralty and customs law — fields that intersect with trade. She observed how closely these areas are tied to the movement of goods, economic relations, and regulatory frameworks. Then during the COVID pandemic, Gauri …

Read More

Understanding Third-Party Funding in International Commercial Arbitration

Arbitration and commercial litigation funding plays an increasingly important role in an interdependent justice system, with forthcoming caselaw paving the way for the growth of funding availability for meritorious ESG-aligned cases. We sit down with Lucas Macedo, a Senior Investment Manager at Nivalion. Macedo believes that funders play a critical …

Read More