International Economics Ltd

12/05/2026

De-dollarisation is forcing Mauritius to adopt strategic diversification. This phenomenon is expected to accelerate, with the US dollar gradually losing its influence in trade. In this context, Mauritius stands to benefit by limiting its dependence on this currency.

Paul Baker, CEO of International Economics Consulting Ltd, notes that the prospects of holding assets in yuan or Indian rupees do not offer better protection against financial risks. He points out that the situation may be different for the euro or the Swiss franc, although even these face challenges, such as recent instability in the Swiss franc and sluggish growth in the eurozone amid geopolitical tensions with Russia.
Read the full article here:

This article explores how de-dollarisation is forcing Mauritius to adopt strategic diversification.

07/05/2026

🌍 What could the future of regional trade integration look like by 2040?
We are pleased to share the Foresight Study on Regional Trade Integration in Asia-Pacific 2040, prepared with ESCAP by Paul Baker, Chairman of International Economics Consulting Ltd, and Loan Le, Director of International Economics Consulting (Viet Nam).

At a time of rapid change in the global trading system, the study explores plausible pathways for regional trade integration, examining how economies may respond to fragmentation, regulatory divergence, digital transformation, sustainability pressures, and evolving models of cooperation. The study discusses four potential scenarios of regional integration:

• A power-based route that is driven by geopolitical competition;
• A unilateral route marked by fragmentation and protectionism;
• A regional integration route with deeper intra-bloc cooperation;
• A renewed multilateral route with stronger global coordination.

By looking at the likely outcomes of four potential scenarios, the study contributes to forward-looking policy discussions on how Asia-Pacific economies can strengthen resilience, deepen cooperation, and support more inclusive regional integration toward 2040.

Which pathway do you think is most likely for regional trade integration in Asia-Pacific by 2040 - and why?

📘 Read the publication here:

24/04/2026

🌍 The global trade landscape is shifting faster than many African landlocked least developed countries (LLDCs) can adapt.

We are pleased to share this timely UN-OHRLLS report, developed by International Economics Consulting Ltd and Professor David Luke, which examines the trade patterns, market access conditions and structural constraints shaping African LLDCs and sets out practical priorities for enhancing trade resilience and value addition through regional integration.

🔍 Some key highlights:
▪️ African LDCs and LLDCs show strong opportunities for integration in three priority regional value chains: food products, apparel and motor vehicles & parts.
▪️ Transit dependence continues to undermine LLDC competitiveness and integration into regional and global value chains, underscoring the importance of effective transit agreements and corridor-based facilitation measures such as One-Stop Border Posts.
▪️ E-commerce and digital trade are emerging as critical pathways for Africa’s LDCs and LLDCs to diversify exports, connect to regional value chains and overcome traditional barriers to market access.
▪️ Regional integration and South-South cooperation remain central to Africa’s strategy for trade-led industrial transformation, offering LDCs and LLDCs a platform to overcome structural constraints and deepen participation in value-added trade.

📄 Read the full report authored by Professor David Luke, Paul Baker, Loan Le, Neetish Hurry, Akshay Bholee and Smita Bheenick here: https://bit.ly/4ucN77r

20/04/2026

📣 Neetish Hurry, Director of Analytics and Cognitive Computing, and Smita Bheenick, Senior Trade Specialist at International Economics Consulting Ltd, will be speaking at the 12th KESRA Economic Dialogue hosted by the Kenya Revenue Authority tomorrow!

Join our team and other leading experts to explore how data analytics can be leveraged to support smarter trade decisions and stronger intra-African trade outcomes.

📅 21 April 2026 | 2:00-4:30 PM (EAT) | Online

Register now: https://bit.ly/3QjX4RI

For a preview of the insights data can unlock, explore our Trade Performance Dashboard covering 200+ countries: https://bit.ly/4clgm1J

10/04/2026

International trade—across goods, services, and digital markets—increasingly depends on open cross-border data flows and trusted access to information, wherever it is stored or processed. As regulatory pressures grow, some countries have introduced data protection measures that restrict these flows, often citing privacy or national security concerns, creating new friction in digital trade.

Yet data is now as vital to modern economies as the movement of physical goods. When countries recognise each other’s data protection standards as adequate, information can circulate more freely across larger economic areas, driving innovation, productivity, and growth. In this context, cyber diplomacy—bridging human rights, security, and economic policy—can serve as the catalyst for balanced rules that protect citizens and enable digital trade to flourish.
Read the full paper here, authored by Michael Mudd, our Senior Digital Trade Advisor 👉

This paper looks at how digital trade relies on open cross-border data flows and how policies around trade, privacy, and security shape that landscape.

09/04/2026

International Economics Consulting Ltd has been engaged in several global projects shaping international trade and investment. We are pleased to share our latest Newsletter.

This edition provides a comprehensive overview of our recent activities and performance, including:

• Insightful articles and analysis
• Key project updates
• Notable news highlights
• Current dashboards and metrics

International Economics has been engaged in several global projects shaping international trade and investment.

03/04/2026

As AI systems increasingly shape decisions-from loan approvals to healthcare and fraud detection, accountability and robust data governance frameworks are essential. Poor-quality data leads to large-scale, fast-moving errors, and as AI evolves from automation and machine learning to generative and now agentic systems capable of autonomous decision-making, the risks grow significantly. Without proper oversight, mistakes and misuse can expand rapidly.

With billions invested globally in AI development, organisations that deploy these technologies without governance face legal, financial, and reputational damage. Strong data governance ensures AI operates within defined boundaries, remains transparent and reversible, and minimises harm. The choice is clear: governance builds trust, compliance, and competitive advantage; without it, the result is risk and instability.

Read the full paper here, authored by Michael Mudd, our Senior Digital Trade Advisor, who specialises in advising on data policy, knowledge management, data security, and digital transformation, across Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

This paper assesses why data governance is important for successful AI implementation.

31/03/2026

As Africa’s integration agenda gathers momentum, tracking results is more important than ever.

In this timely LSE blog, our Chief Executive Officer, Paul Baker, Senior Trade Specialist, Smita Bheenick and Strategic Director of the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, Professor David Luke, present a practical framework for monitoring progress under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - helping move the conversation from commitment to measurable outcomes and impact.

The authors propose a Theory of Change framework for understanding how the AfCFTA is expected to generate results, the conditions needed for those results to materialise, and the main constraints that may impede implementation.

🔗 Read the blog here to find out more: https://bit.ly/4s5ntzM

Stay tuned for an upcoming full paper.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a landmark trade and investment integration project intended to create a single African market for goods and services. But, as Paul R. Baker, Smita Bheenick, and David Luke write, without supporting mechanisms, bodies, and policies, its potential w...

31/03/2026

Following the recent Cowater webinar, “Deploying Expertise for Global Impact: How EDM Advances Canada’s Trade Diversification Agenda,” we are pleased to share the final Policy Paper developed by International Economics Consulting Ltd. The team was led by Paul Baker and Loan Le. We thank Phil Rourke, Don Stephenson, Victoria Campbell for their guidance and inputs into the paper.

Some key messages on the paper are:

Trade and development are mutually reinforcing, not competing agendas. Trade expands markets, diffuses technology, and can directly support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while development policy (infrastructure, skills, institutions, gender equality, environmental governance) determines whether countries can actually participate in and benefit from trade rather than being locked into low-value or unequal patterns.

Aid for Trade (AfT) is the bridge between rules on paper and development outcomes on the ground. Trade agreements provide the “rules of the road”, but AfT mobilises finance and know-how on infrastructure, productive capacity, trade facilitation, and digitalisation to help developing countries use those rules.

Global AfT is shifting from - ‘poverty reduction first’ - to multi-purpose geo-economic tools. Major donors (EU, UK, US, China, G7) increasingly use trade-linked development finance to advance climate, critical-mineral, connectivity, and industrial objectives, blending grants with large infrastructure and investment platforms that serve both partner-country and donor strategic interests.

Canada’s trade and development agenda is anchored in the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) and the Inclusive Approach to Trade. These frameworks position Canada as a champion of rules-based, inclusive trade.

Canada's Budget 2025 tightens the aid envelope while doubling down on trade diversification tools. A CAD 2.7 billion reduction in Canada’s international assistance coincides with new funding for trade missions, negotiation capacity, and export development, signaling that future Official Development Assistance (ODA)-funded trade initiatives will need to demonstrate both clear development impact and tangible contributions to diversification and economic security.

Canada’s Expert Deployment Mechanism for Trade and Development (EDM) is a test case for whether demand-driven, technical AfT can deliver progressive trade in a harsher geoeconomic climate.

Designed for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders across government, international organizations, and the wider trade and development community, this paper aims to inform and support more effective AfT initiatives in the years ahead.

We are pleased to share the final Policy Paper developed by International Economics, following the recent Cowater webinar.

27/03/2026

In Nairobi this week, our Senior Trade Specialist, Smita Bhirgoo Bheenick, presented findings from a rapid gap analysis on Mauritius, assessing the alignment of current investment promotion and facilitation practices with the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment (PoI).

🇲🇺 A few takeaways from the analysis:

• Mauritius starts from a position of strength, with a relatively advanced investment regime and strong institutional foundations that can support deeper alignment with the AfCFTA.

• There is scope to sharpen Mauritius’ role as a regional platform for investment structuring and coordination, including through stronger intra-African investment promotion and formalised cooperation with regional and continental partners.

• The Protocol provides an opportunity to strengthen the inclusiveness and sustainability of investment facilitation.

Great energy at the workshop, convened by ODI Global and the AfCFTA Secretariat, under the Foreign Development and Commonwealth Office - funded “Supporting Investment and Trade in Africa (SITA) programme”, where experts from Eswatini, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Djibouti also shared experiences, progress and implementation challenges under the Protocol on Investment.

International Economics Consulting Ltd is proud to support AfCFTA implementation efforts through research and analysis that translate commitments into country-level action.

Explore our investment performance dashboard for country-level data on investment trends and indicators: https://bit.ly/47uyhQB