This project seeks to explore and improve understanding of the EU’s evolving trade policy and its implications for third countries, including Australia and countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

During 2020, as we adjusted to new ways of operating required by Covid-19, we have focussed on analysing recent EU trade treaties, particularly their scope and their intellectual property chapters. We have also looked more intensively at EU geographical indications (GIs) proposals for the Australia and New Zealand treaties as the suggested text goes considerably further than in recently completed EU trade treaties. We held a webinar on the GI proposals in November 2020 (see events).