Introduction & Current Context
The international trade regime was a sea of tranquillity for a long time. It was the domain of trade economists and trade lawyers, tucked away at the World Trade Organization (WTO)1 on the shores of Lake Geneva. The trade regime as it has developed is being undermined by the twin forces of geo‑political confrontation and geo‑economic fragmentation. Examples for how trade is being utilised as a new battlefield abound: the curtailment or cancellation of energy deliveries by Russia to European countries, the initiation of trade sanctions by China against various products from Australia, and the trade war between China and the United States (US).
About the Author
Markus Wagner
Markus Wagner is an Associate Professor at the School of Law at the University of Wollongong. He previously held academic positions at Warwick Law School, the University of Miami and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg / Germany. He obtained his law degree in 2002 and a master’s degree in international law in 2005, both from the Faculty of Law at
the University of Giessen / Germany. In 2006, he graduated from Stanford Law School with an LL.M. degree. Professor Wagner subsequently clerked for then-President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Aharon Barak. Starting in 2007, he worked for the Brussels office of WilmerHale.
Professor Wagner has advised international organisations and various national governments on matters concerning international trade and investment law and policy, international humanitarian law and dispute settlement.
Professor Wagner is the Executive Vice-President of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), after having held various governing functions for SIEL. He has advised international organizations and has presented at academic and professional conferences in the areas of autonomous weapons and international economic law. He holds an appointment as Visiting Research Fellow at the Mandela Institute at the Oliver Schreiner School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Professor Wagner serves as the Associate Editor for the Journal of World Investment and Trade (JWIT) and sits on the advisory boards of the Göttingen Journal of International Law (GoJIL) and the African Journal of International Economic Law (AfJIEL).
