Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy?

The author argues that international trade policy is shifting from a primary focus on trade liberalization and economic efficiency toward a 'multipurpose' approach. This new framework integrates broader objectives—including climate action, supply chain resilience, and national security—directly into trade policy rather than treating them as externalities. The document outlines domestic challenges, such as balancing incommensurable goals and breaking down departmental silos, and international challenges, including the increasing tension between national policy imperatives and World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It concludes that while this shift addresses the perceived failures of globalization, it risks fragmenting international cooperation and increasing the divide between developed and developing nations.

• Multipurpose trade policy represents a paradigm shift where objectives like labour rights, inequality, supply chain resilience, national security, and the climate crisis are no longer viewed as externalities of trade liberalization, but as immediate goals of trade policy.
• The shift is driven by competing narratives challenging the 'establishment view' of globalization, citing issues such as job losses, rising inequality, the fragility of supply chains exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate breakdown caused by Western production and consumption patterns.
• Major developed economies are leading this transition; the U.S. is pursuing 'Globalization 2.0' through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework focusing on 'resilience,' 'inclusion,' and 'sustainability,' while the EU is implementing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism despite legal complexities.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is reflecting this shift through the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which is the first agreement primarily pursuing a sustainability objective, and an increased focus on food security.
• Implementing multipurpose trade policy creates four primary domestic challenges: balancing incommensurable goals (e.g., security vs. efficiency), breaking down silos of expertise between government departments, identifying the most effective instruments, and determining decision-making authority.
• There is a growing trend toward unilateral or 'minilateral' approaches as states prioritize political economy imperatives over WTO legal compliance, leading to a decrease in the central role of international trade law.
• A divide persists between developed and developing countries; the latter are skeptical of labour standard objectives and fear that multipurpose policies may serve as pretexts for rolling back trade liberalization, though they have long advocated for trade to focus on development and food security.

APA

Lamp, N. (2023). Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/multipurpose-trade-policy

Chicago

Lamp, Nicolas. Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/multipurpose-trade-policy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lamp |first1=Nicolas |title=Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=15 January 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/multipurpose-trade-policy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lamp2023toward, author = {Lamp, Nicolas}, title = {{Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/multipurpose-trade-policy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }