International Trade

The Ethics of Buying Clothes Produced in Sweatshops
- February 26, 2018
International Development Week (IDW), hosted by undergraduate students of the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa, took place the week of 5 February 2018. Hundreds of Ottawa-area undergraduate students enthusiastically participated in discussions designed …
By Nipa Banerjee
Economy, Health, Human Rights, International Development, International Trade, Women
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Liberals’ Vague “Values” Talk Undermines Rights Promotion
- February 2, 2018
Canadian governments since the mid-1970s have claimed that promoting human rights around the world is a foreign policy priority. There are solid moral, legal, and practical grounds for doing so. Yet increasingly, the Liberal government, like its Tory predecessor, justifies …
By David Petrasek
Canadian Foreign Policy, Human Rights, International Law, International Trade, United Nations
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Trump’s Security Strategy is more about his Personal Grievances
- December 20, 2017
US President Donald Trump released his administration’s national security strategy, presented in a speech to a subdued military audience on the afternoon of December 18^th. The strategy document was previewed by Trump’s national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster, …
By Wesley Wark
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Security, International Trade, USA
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How Rational are Capitalists in the Developing World?
- December 13, 2017
By Thomas Chiasson-LeBel

A questionable fundamental assumption underpins a great deal of the literature in International Development studies. It suggests that given the proper incentives, a “national bourgeoisie” will adequately reinvest its profits and provoke a virtuous cycle of reinvestment …
By CIPS
Economy, International Trade, Latin America
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China as #1: Where Might it Lead the World?
- November 11, 2017
It slowly crept up on us. But in a carefully choreographed 19^th Party Congress in late October, President Xi Jinping was enthroned before several thousand elite party loyalists as “absolute monarch,” along with a multi-layered, hand-picked collection of respectful …
By John Sinclair
Canadian Foreign Policy, China, International Trade, USA
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The Hidden Connection between Obesity, Heart Disease, and Trade
- October 24, 2017
This week, representatives from most of the world’s governments are meeting at a World Health Organization global conference in Uruguay to tackle the global pandemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

These NCDs are the chronic diseases — including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, …
By Ronald Labonte
Health, International Trade, United Nations
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Resuscitating the Canadian Foreign Service
- October 9, 2017
After years of neglect and mismanagement, the Canadian foreign service is now in serious trouble. The story of how it got this way is a long one, with a litany of poor management, appalling decisions by senior public servants, and …
By Daniel Livermore
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development, International Trade, United Nations
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NAFTA is the Wrong Venue to Govern Digital Trade
- September 14, 2017
By Susan Ariel Aaronson and Patrick Leblond

Diplomats from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are thinking about the website where you met your soulmate, and the cloud service where you store your photos. In an increasingly digital economy, policy …
By Patrick Leblond
China, Economy, International Trade, Technology
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The US Has Much to Gain in Embracing Freeland’s Free-Trade Approach
- August 16, 2017
On 14 August, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland outlined Canada’s objectives for renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement in view of the negotiations that began on 16 August.

Freeland was optimistic about the real possibility of modernizing NAFTA in a …
By Patrick Leblond
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Trade, USA
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Why NAFTA’s Chapter 19 is Worth Fighting For
- July 29, 2017
Canada has reportedly drawn a “red line” over Chapter 19 as the US calls for NAFTA renegotiations. That’s a good thing.

Even before the negotiations to revise and modernize NAFTA begin on 16 August, a red line has been drawn …
By Patrick Leblond
Economy, International Trade, USA
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US Demands Won’t Lead to the NAFTA of Our Nightmares
- July 22, 2017
On July 17, the United States Trade Representative Office published the Trump administration’s detailed objectives for renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement. Contrary to President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about NAFTA in the past, the objectives document’s overall tone is very …
By Patrick Leblond
Economy, International Trade, USA
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CETA after Opinion 2/15: Legal Clarity or Confusion?
- July 13, 2017
By Jens Ladefoged Mortensen

Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen

The EU’s trading partners must wonder what goes on inside Europe. What does it take to get a trade deal done? True, trade negotiations are notoriously complex. The CETA …
By CIPS
Europe, International Trade
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