INB60003 International Trade and Investment

DFAT has advertised that priority will be given to proposals that support:

Aid for Trade initiatives - many developing countries face a range of supply-side and trade-related infrastructure obstacles, which constrain their ability to engage in international trade. The aid for trade initiative seeks to align donor and partner countries’ strategies in promoting trade as leverage for poverty reduction and economic development. The context also entails tackling trade-related constraints and enabling developing countries to pursue trade liberalisation.

Regional collaboration – particularly in the areas of developing country trade and trade facilitation (goods, services and capital), economic reform and growth, transport safety and security, food security, energy, water or climate change.

Strengthening of public sector capability in developing countries to address constraints to trade and economic growth, including in the areas of policy, infrastructure, financing, local and global supply chains, resource management or workforce skills.

Improved access to financial services, including strengthening the domestic revenue base in developing countries and assisting developing countries to mobilise private investment.

You or your group have brainstormed a number of suitable projects, including:

1. Enhancing trade capacity of a developing country (e.g. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines,Vietnam);
2. Improved trade performance and reduced poverty;
3. Automation and the future world of work;
4. Impact of the growing awareness of anti-slavery and workers’ rights issues on MNCs’ operational practices (e.g. supply chain, outsourcing, manufacturing) or proliferation international trade);
5. Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development Schemes for Women;
6. ‘Aid for trade’ in promoting trade capability and economic growth;
7. The role of free trade agreements in promoting economic growth and financial resilience in developed or developing countries;
8. Building a case for whether a global standard tax rate would be likely to stabilise international trade and investment across countries and lobbying for implementation of such a scheme through multilateral agencies.

Required:

Choose one of these potential topics and write-up an EOI to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australian Government. Please contact the unit convenor if you are interested in developing an alternative topic of your choice.