Economics & Trade Programme
Research on trade policy, economic statecraft, sanctions and economic security.
The programme examines how governments use trade, financial and industrial policy, and how those decisions affect supply chains, market access and international security.
Research scope
ETP produces policy briefs, analysis and interviews on economic measures used by governments and the security consequences of trade and industrial decisions.
- Sanctions, export controls and countermeasures
- Trade agreements, tariffs and market access
- Critical minerals, industrial policy and supply chains
- Financial infrastructure and economic statecraft
Featured ETP research
Selected publications from ETP analysts. Images, titles and summaries come from the posts themselves and update when new research is published.
-
Iraq-Turkey Oil Pipeline Deal: The Hormuz Factor
The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline deal reveals how the Hormuz shutdown weakened Baghdad’s bargaining power and helped Ankara secure a stake in Kirkuk oil production.
-
Botswana, Angola and the Fight Against Synthetic Diamonds
Botswana and Angola face growing competition from synthetic diamonds. Can provenance, branding and De Beers ownership preserve the value of natural diamonds?
-
Growing and Getting Poorer: Revenue, Return and Realignment in Afghanistan’s Economy, Five Years On
Executive Summary Afghanistan’s economy grew 4.8% in FY2025 while real income per head fell 5.6%, a divergence explained by the 5.4 million Afghans returned from…
-
Turning Mineral Potential into Supply: Colombia and the US
Executive Summary The Colombia-United States (US) memorandum of understanding (MOU) on critical minerals creates a framework for strengthening Colombia’s potential contribution to US supply-chain diversification.…
CISES Sanctions Tracker
The Sanctions Tracker maintains a source-linked record of sanctions, export controls and countermeasures across six jurisdictions. It enables comparison of issuing authorities, targets, types of measures and stated objectives.
It is a research database, not a sanctions-screening or compliance service.
Explore the tracker ↗
ETP leadership
Tasneem Ismail
Programme Director, Economics & Trade Programme
Erin Spellman-Butler
Deputy Programme Director, Economics & Trade Programme
ETP interviews
Interviews on EU–Canada relations, financial infrastructure and critical minerals.
Could Canada Become the EU’s First Associate Member? | Michael McAdoo
Trade relations and the prospects for closer EU–Canada cooperation.
Why Washington Is Fearing Brazil’s Pix system? (It’s Visa)
Brazil’s payment infrastructure and its implications for financial competition.
Europe’s Critical Minerals Problem: What Japan Did Differently
What Europe can learn from Japan’s approach to mineral supply chains.
All ETP publications
Browse research published by the Economics & Trade Programme. This list updates automatically and includes numbered pages of earlier articles.
-
If It’s Legal, Why Can’t Apple Buy Chinese Memory
In June 2026, Tim Cook stated that rising costs in the memory industry were beginning to…
-
The Global AI Investment Race: Can Southeast Asia Capture the Next Wave?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The global AI race is increasingly an investment race rather than a competition over…
-
Pricing the Pivot: Market Optimism, Historical Precedent, and Execution Risk in de la Espriella’s Colombia
Executive Summary Colombia’s June 2026 election of right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella has triggered a notable…
Follow ETP research
Publications, interviews and project updates from the Economics & Trade Programme.