International Trade and Investment

Analyzing the link between foreign investment and environmental costs, focusing on firms – domestic and foreign multinational enterprises operating in China

The aim of ESSPIN is to examine the impact of global megatrends on social, economic and spatial inequalities in the EU.

The RETHINK-GSC project, funded by the EU's Horizon Europe program, is a research project that uses innovative methods to analyze the effects of global supply chains (GSCs) and develops new methodologies to quantify the role of knowledge flows and service inputs. The aim of the RETHINK-GSC is to capture the increasing importance of intangibles in global production and to provide new insights into ongoing and expected changes in global production processes.

Pursuing a European approach to international trade policy—the agenda of the Kiel Institute calls for a robust EU response to geopolitical tensions, protectionism, and economic uncertainties. China's dominance in key industries, the looming threat of U.S. tariffs under Donald Trump, and Europe’s waning competitiveness require a unified European strategy. A strengthened single market and a strategic trade policy—one that fosters openness, liberalization, and new partnerships, e.g. with Africa—are essential to bolstering Germany’s and the EU’s resilience while maintaining parity with the U.S. and China in the long term.

Following the US elections, an EU priority should be to defend multilateral trade and global cooperation over its bilateral relationship with the United States. The costs caused by a collapse of the multilateral system could be many times higher than higher tariffs alone. These are some of the findings of a new study by Kiel Institute and WIFO researchers, which examines different realistic US trade policy scenarios and their global implications.

Gender inequality in trading partner countries has a negative impact on women entrepreneurs, even if they are from well-developed countries. Firm-level data from Denmark show that new businesses founded by women trade less with countries with higher gender inequality than similar businesses founded by men. This, thus, makes it more difficult for women entrepreneurs to gain new market share, which can hamper the growth performance of their businesses. These are some of the findings of a new study by RETHINK-GSC, an EU-funded research project led by the Kiel Institute.