Geoeconomic Competition

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Emily Kilcrease senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and co-host of CNAS' podcast De-risky Business. The episode dives into the details of the AI Diffusions Framework with an eye to the implication for US' partners. It unpacks the innovative elements of the framework, how they impact US partners and whether it may become a blueprint for future economic security measures.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Dr. Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation. The episode analyses the case and long adventure of Nippon Steel's acquisition of US Steel. Despite the lack of clear national security threats, the deal has been (temporarily) blocked by US President, Joe Biden. The episode analyses the importance of this case in the broader picture of how investment screening may be changing, the growing tension between national security and competitiveness and how the picture may change with the forthcoming Trump presidency.  

Link to book "Chinese investments and the economic security turn in Europe": https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/chinese-investments-and-the-economic-security-turn-in-europe 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Cecilia Trasi, Research Analyst at Bruegel. The episode analyses the case of Swedish battery manufacturing Northvolt. Why it was/is the big European hope in battery manufacturing? What led it to file for bankruptcy? What can Europe learn from this?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Barath Harithas, Senior fellow in the Economics Program and Scholl Chair for International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The episode analyses the elements of (potential) continuity and the differences in the approach to China of the first and second Trump Presidency. It dives into tariffs and export controls, the appointments made so far and recommendations of things to keep an eye on. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Matthew Goodman, distinguished fellow and director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he also leads RealEcon: Reimagining American Economic Leadership, a CFR initiative that explores the U.S. role in the international economy. Based on Trump's first term as President, the developments of the past years and the announcements done during the campaign, the episode delivers an early assessment of the potential economic policies of the second Trump Presidency, and what could be their impact on US economy and on partners. 

In this special edition of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Ignacio Garcia Bercero, former DG Trade and Bruegel non-resident Senior Fellow. The episode dives into the EU's tariffs on imports of EVs from China, asking how we got to this point, why EVs were the main concern, what is the future trajectory of the dispute between the EU and China and whether the label of Trade War is justified at this point. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Dr. Jeremy Chih Cheng Chang, CEO of the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET) in Taiwan. The episode takes a wide overview of Taiwan's position as the semiconductor factory of the world, how it got here, what challenges it faces and what is the future trajectory for the industry and for Taiwan. Among the topics discussed: Competition with China, the relationship with the US and challenges related to the opening of new plants in the US, Japan and the EU.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Nicola Bilotta, coordinator of the EU-Supervisory Digital Finance Academy (EU-SDFA),  Research Associate at the Florence School of Banking and Finance and Associate Fellow at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). The episode unpacks the debate on de-dollarisation. How does a currency become international and why do we need an international currency? What are the ongoing and future trends? Ultimately, is de-dollarisation happing?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Mikael Wigell, Research Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and co-founder of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Week and the Geoeconomics Society. The episode touches upon the debate over geoeconomics, economic security and economic statecraft. It then engages with the question of who is a geoeconomist.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti has a chat with Gregor Sebastian, Senior Analyst at Rhodium Group. The episode provides an overview of the current situation and engages with the debate on the advantages and risks of Chinese greenfield investments in the EU EV sector. 

Articles cited:
https://ip-quarterly.com/en/solution-eus-chinese-greenfield-investments-conundrum
https://rhg.com/research/aint-no-duty-high-enough/
https://rhg.com/research/pole-position-chinese-ev-investments-boom-amid-growing-political-backlash/

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Senior Fellow at Bruegel and Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. The episode focuses on the Third Plenum and on the implications its outcomes (if any) may have for European businesses.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Dr Mona Paulsen, Assistant Professor in International Economic Law at the London School of Economics (LSE). Starting from her article titled The Past, Present and Potential of Economic Security, the episode looks at the history of economic security to show that economic security is not an exceptional state of the globalised economy nor should it be treated as something exceptional in the policymaking of governments.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Jonathan Hackenbroich from the European Commission - DG Trade to discuss how the EU economic security strategy has performed from the perspective of one of the main DGs involved in its design and implementation.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Elvire Fabry and Nicolas Koehler-Suzuki to discuss how the EU economic security strategy has performed in its first year compared to the economic security approaches of other actors.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the EU's vulnerabilities - real and only perceived - with Luke Patey, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). The episode starts with critical minerals and then expands to other sectors to build the argument that the EU is less vulnerable to China than it thinks. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the recently announced US tariffs with Ilaria Mazzocco, Senior Fellow with the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The episode explain what is section 301, the reason for the adoption of this latest round of tariffs, why EV are the centre of attention and last, but not least, what Beijing thinks of them. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the issue of extraterritoriality with Georgina Wright, Deputy Director for International Studies at Institute Montaigne . The episode is a primer on the complex topic of extraterritorial measures, which are growing in number and in importance. What is extraterritoriality? And what should we do about it? Are only two of the questions addressed in this episode and in the report on extraterritoriality published by Institute Montaigne.

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti discusses outbound investment screening with Sarah Bauerle Danzman, Associate Professor at Indiana University and Scholar in Residence at the Atlantic Council . The episode explores the emergence of the debate in the US, the (potential) implications of the regulation that will follow the executive order, and the different ways to approach the issue. 

In this third (and last) episode of the short series on industrial policies, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Todd Tucker, Director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute. The episode focuses on the US' turn to industrial policies, what has driven it, what are its main components and focus points, how much it has already contributed to US' competitiveness and where it is going. The episode also explores the question of a potential subsidy race and the role of coordination with partners. 

In this second episode of a short series of episodes on industrial policies, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Camille Boullenois, Associate Director at Rhodium Group. The episode challenges the idea that China's industrial policies have led only to successes and cautions against attempting to replicate a similar model in Europe. Overcapacity is only one of the issues that have emerged in China.