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This research paper explores the potential for establishing regional automotive value chains within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by drawing lessons from the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation (AICO) scheme. It analyzes the current state of the automotive sector in Southern Africa, the barriers to integration, and potential strategies for enhancing regional competitiveness.

This report examines the tension between trade and investment liberalization and environmental protection within the Mekong subregion of ASEAN, highlighting the inadequacy of current multilateral efforts and the heavy reliance on foreign donors for environmental policy initiatives.

This research paper examines how China can align its commercial policies with a 'sustainable trade strategy' consisting of five core objectives: rebalancing the economy, promoting added value, expanding the services sector, promoting Chinese brands and intellectual property, and supporting a sustainable international trade architecture. The authors analyze China's trade evolution since joining the WTO, the limitations of traditional reciprocity-based trade agreements, and the potential for soft-law initiatives and regional cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals.

This case study examines how trade facilitation measures in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) may exacerbate the illegal trade of wildlife and timber by easing the movement of goods across borders, and provides recommendations for policymakers to mitigate these risks.

This case study examines the role of ecolabelling and environmental standards in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and the wider ASEAN region, highlighting how these tools often act as trade barriers for developing countries due to high implementation costs and a lack of domestic environmental consciousness.

This case study examines the role of investment incentives in attracting foreign investment to Singapore's pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences (BMS) sectors and evaluates the resulting impacts on employment, economic diversification, and technology spillovers.

This case study examines the impact of investment incentives on the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the Banten province. It analyzes the evolution of Indonesian investment laws, the effectiveness of these incentives in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and the resulting socio-economic and environmental consequences.

This research paper, published in December 2007 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), provides a Rapid Trade and Environment Assessment (RTEA) of organic agriculture in Lao PDR. It examines the intersection of trade policies, environmental sustainability, and the growth of the organic sector, highlighting the potential for organic products to improve farmer livelihoods and environmental health while facing challenges in certification and market access.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) analyzes India's approach to international trade, arguing that its reluctance to enter binding trade agreements is rooted in a domestic political culture of self-sufficiency and a government-driven (rather than business-driven) policymaking process. The author examines how these internal dynamics and the lack of institutional capacity may result in a 'commercially shallow' free trade agreement (FTA) between India and South Africa, prioritizing political alliances over economic integration.

This update report by the Climate Bonds Initiative examines the growth of green financial products and the role of blended finance in supporting green infrastructure investment in Indonesia.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes how sustainable finance taxonomies incorporate transition mechanisms to support the shift to net-zero emissions by 2050. It identifies six key 'Taxonomy Transition Mechanisms'—including forward criteria, sunset dates, and transition plan requirements—and examines their application across traffic-light, binary, and mixed taxonomy archetypes. Through case studies of jurisdictions like Singapore, the EU, Australia, China, and Rwanda, the report demonstrates how these mechanisms can be used to provide granular, science-based criteria for hard-to-abate sectors, distinguishing between point-in-time 'transition labels' for financial instruments and the long-term 'transition process' of entities and sectors.

This guide by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the use of registration and approval requirements in investment treaties to limit their scope of application. It examines how these criteria are used by states to control the quality of investments and limit exposure to international arbitration, providing a comparative analysis of regional agreements (ASEAN, COMESA) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), alongside an analysis of arbitral awards that have interpreted these provisions.