Research Groups

Group II: Globalization, Economic Integration and Development

The Group is organised to explore and develop policy and legal solutions for legal solutions regarding the access to natural resources, the effects of international trade on the sustainability of natural resources, the environmental impact of resource trade and the price of volatile resources, considering the challenges faced by EU Member States, BRICs, developing countries (especially Lusophone) and the US.

One of the most significant outcomes of this group is the publication of its principal investigator, Prof. Pedro Infante Mota, of his book on WTO Dispute Settlement.

Projects

Accordingly, this Group will cooperate and simultaneously develop three projects in the period 2020-2024:

It has been adopted recently the Arms Trade Treaty and there are several goods whose trade is controlled. This project aims to understand why these products are controlled – whether it’s because of its strategic importance (like uranium, e.g.) or/and its possible doble use (some chemicals) – and understand the interaction between the World Trade Organization in managing some very real public policy challenges, specially, his relationship with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Duration: 2018-2021 (24 months)

Despite being “the big buzzword of our times”, the truth is that there is still a great lack of knowledge about the causes and effects of globalization. For example, we often hear about the "Americanization" of our way of life, but few people know that the United States ranks very poorly in what is the most popular composite index of globalization used in academic literature (the so-called KOF Index); the big surprise of some rich country governments when they discovered their dependence on China for some medical equipment, etc.

Duration: 2020-2022 (24 months)

It is estimated that the GPA 2012, which entered into force on 6 April 2014, is applicable annually to markets currently valued at 1.7 billion of US dollars. GPA 2012 is increasingly at the center of global efforts to promote the liberalization of public procurement markets and the effectiveness of solid rules and the principle of non-discrimination, despite the many limitations and exceptions, has gradually played a relevant role. in such efforts. And since much of the world's growth over the years futures will be generated outside European territory and that more than 50 billion of US dollars could be spent on infrastructure around the world in the next 15 years, it is crucial to pay attention added to the GPA 2012, the largest legally binding agreement to regulate public procurement worldwide.

Duration: 2020-2023 (36 months)

Projects Projects
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Projects