Cardiff University researchers join £10m centre for inclusive trade policy

Researchers from Cardiff University will join the UK’s first interdisciplinary research centre in international trade when it launches in early 2022.

The Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP) is one of six new national centres designed to tackle urgent social and economic issues by providing robust research evidence to support government decision-making.

Funded by an £8m grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and additional support from its contributing universities, the Centre brings together experts from all four UK nations to conduct innovative trade policy research.

Dr Ludivine Petetin from Cardiff University’s School of Law and Politics and the Wales Governance Centre said: “The CITP aims to be a ‘go-to’ location, both for expert, innovative research and for policy formulation.

“There will be a key focus on inclusivity regionally and institutionally across the four nations of the UK, and across disciplines and voices in society, including citizens’ juries, governments, firms, individuals and across generations to contribute to internationally path-breaking and impactful research.”

Having left the EU, the UK is in the process of devising its own trade policy, which will shape economic and welfare outcomes for generations to come. International trade is changing rapidly and becoming more complex after facing major challenges from COVID-19, trade wars, disruptive digital technology and climate change.

Led by the University of Sussex Business School and the University of Nottingham, the research project involves scholars in economics, law, business management, politics and international relations from Cardiff University, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Cambridge, the University of Strathclyde and universities overseas.

In addition to the universities, the Centre will also work with nine partners including Ernst & Young LLP (EY), Fieldfisher LLP, the International Trade Group of the Professional and Business Services Council, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Trade Justice Movement and trade officials in all four UK administrations.

To help build long-term capacity for trade policy development and analysis, the Centre will also run a competition for funds for early and mid-career researchers.

Professor Dan Wincott, Blackwell Professor of Law and Society at the School of Law and Politics and the Wales Governance Centre in Cardiff University, said: “The Centre will strengthen academic expertise on Trade Policy and build links with policy and professional communities.

“The CITP has been designed with devolution in mind. It provides an exciting opportunity to work with colleagues across the UK and the wider world and link this work with public debate and policy development in Wales.”