Kevin Kalomeni
GEM-STONES Doctoral Fellow
PhD POSITION IN POLITICAL SCIENCE & INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY ON "PROLIFERATION OF PTAs AND EU TRADE POLICY"
Host Institutions
Supervisors
Thesis Title
Designing regulatory cooperation: a story about economic interests, bureaucracy and standards
Research Abstract
This research will aim at answering the following research question : how much regulatory cooperation determines contents of provisions and choice of partners in EU preferential trade agreements ? Three interrelated questions are then included and subsequent to the former: what are the political economy drivers behind the proliferation of PTAs negotiated by the EU?; what is the strategy adopted by the EU in order to maximize its benefit in a context of PTA proliferation?; and, what are the consequences for the Multilateral Trading System and EU own PTAs network? The thesis will first explore answers to these questions provided by three important bodies of theoretical literature: lobby approach for the study of EU trade policy, Liberal Regime Theory and Power-centric theories. The objective of this research is to describe how PTAs are used as political and economic tools to manage internal and external constraints in a global context characterized by multipolarization (Dee 2015; Grevi 2009; Sbragia 2010; García 2013), the increasing economic importance of new trade policy subjects and the centrality of EU market power. At the center of this study, rational choice will therefore guide the theoretical frame as it places strategic power competition and economic interests are main causes for the behavior of the actor under analysis (EU). Empirical assessment will be based on post-positivist paradigm (Della Porta & Keating 2008), relying on case study comparative methods (Bennett & Elman 2007; George & Bennett 2004). It is also the intention of this research to exploit the efforts deployed in developing common databases of PTAs, such as DESTA (Design of Trade Agreements (DESTA) Database, 2016), which tries to go further than tariffs analyses by looking into the design of agreements. This approach allows to compare PTAs “in terms of overall ambitions and commitments reflected in depth of concessions and flexibility clauses or opt-outs” (Dür et al. 2012, 5p). Interviews with relevant stakeholders and content analysis supported by appropriate qualitative text software more precisely, would according to us offer a new perspective on the analysis
Case-studies
CETA – Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Canada-EU FTA)
EU-Japan FTA
Ecuador-EU – Andean community (Colombia/Peru)
Societal Relevance
Three social changes are expected as key findings in this research: The survival of the Multilateral Trading System (MTS): with the gridlock of Doha Development Round almost all members entered in various Free Trade Agreements schemes. If the United States decides to disengage, should other nations fight to keep the system or drastically transform it to reflect the new balance of power? Findings in the new EU type of agreements, both in terms of rules and content, could give a glimpse on how the new global trading system may look like. Impacts of Economic changes in the lobbying structure inside the EU: In the economic literature we moved from factors endowments theories, e.g. Heckscher-Ohlin & Ricardo-Viner models to “new” trade theory, explaining the transformation from inter-industry to intra-industry (IIT) trade in all the OECD countries (Madeira 2014, 116p). These change in structure of the industrial trade have direct implication in changing the nature of lobbying inside the EU (Gilligan 1997) and may enlighten us on how the economic forces in action influence decision making and push the EU to externalize its own trade policy regime. Indeed, distribution effects in IIT target specific firms instead of class or sector, changing in the process the identity of winners or losers of trade liberalization. This lead to new reflection on the new economic and technological changes: new global economic trends, like the digitalization of the economy as well as the rise of 3D printing, will also have soon their impacts on the structure of the Global Value Chains manufacturing process, e.g. the paper produced by the Swedish National Board of Trade in Spring 2016 (Kommerskollegium 2016) on 3D printing. This research would therefore envision to reveal trends in trade policy emphasizing new subjects, in particular technology, services and regulatory cooperation, reflecting the transformation that the world economies are being leaded to.
Findings
Too soon to be assessed
Focus on implementing economic effects of PTAs on lobbying in Brussels and in country’s partners
MOBILITY SCHEDULE
Nov 2016 – Aug 2017 LUISS Guido Carli Rome, Italy
Sep 2017 – Jun 2018 Université Laval Québec, Canada
Sep 2018 – Feb 2018 Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) Rome, Italy
Mar 2019 – Oct 2019 LUISS Guido Carli Rome, Italy
DEGREES AND TITLES
Master in International Relations, specialization Peace, Security and Conflicts
Double Master Degree :
Tongji University, Shanghai, China (09/2013 – 06/2014)
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium (09/2012 – 07/2013)
Thesis Title : “Confucianism and Legalism in Chinese Official Slogans : From “Peaceful Rise” to “Chinese Dream””
Bachelor in Political Sciences
University of Geneva – Switzerland (09/2008 – 01/2012)
Exchange Semester : Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia
WORK EXPERIENCE
Intern - International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), Technical Policy:
02/2016 – 06/2016
➢ Project leader in the development of 6 case studies of services standards for ISO international workshop on services
➢ Development and submission to the Secretary-General of a policy brief and a strategic action plan on standards and trade.
Academic Trainee - Permanent mission of Switzerland to WTO (EFTA, UNECE, UNCTAD, ITC)
02/2015 – 12/2015
➢ Trade negotiations and consultations in free trade agreements (EGA, EFTA bilaterals, NAMA, COASS, GPA, DSB, TiSA, CRTA)
➢ Reports and analyses on trade and development (Trade Policy Reviews of India, Canada, New-Zealand, South-Africa Custom Union)
➢ Follow up of technical assistance programs and development projects (EIF)
Intern - International Telecommunication Union (ITU - UN)
09/2014 – 10/2014
➢ Administrative support and management assistance
➢ Development of Education projects and partnerships for promoting Information Communication Technologies (ITCs)
LANGUAGES
French: Native Language
English: C2 (112/120 in TOEFL IBT) (fluent)
German: C1 Goethe Zertifikat (fluent) (Munich 02/2012 – 07/2012)
Chinese: A2, intermediary level of Mandarin
Italian : intermediairy speaking skills
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Certificate in Project/Programme Planning (PPP) : 01/2016 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Young Swiss in China (09/2013 – 06/2014) ; Sino-Belgian Association 09/2012 – 07/2013
Russian Literature, Chinese culture, ski, fitness
