Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy home pageSambit Bhattacharyya is a Professor of Economics and Head of Department of Economics at the University of Sussex. Prior to joining Sussex, he was a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. His research interests are in the areas of development economics, economic history, and political economy. He has authored books entitled 'A History of Global Capitalism: Feuding Elites and Imperial Expansion' and 'Growth Miracles and Growth Debacles: Exploring Root Causes' and published widely in the abovementioned areas. He co-edits the journal Review of Development Economics.
Amar Breckenridge leads Frontier Economics’ work on trade and related policies. He has over 25 years of experience across all aspects of trade policy, including its interaction with industrial strategy, environmental policy, and economic security. Amar has advised private and public sector clients in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. He has also worked closely with CITP and the UK Trade Policy Observatory, most recently in producing the first comprehensive and independent review of UK trade policies.
Ben Chu is Policy and Analysis Correspondent at BBC Verify. An experienced journalist, speaker and broadcaster he specialises in economics and current affairs. Ben was the Economics Editor of Newsnight and Economics Editor and chief leader writer at The Independent. His is author of ‘Chinese Whispers: Why everything you’ve heard about China is wrong’ and sits on the advisory council of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University and is a member of the Society of Professional Economists.
Kathleen Claussen is Professor of Law at Georgetown University. A leader in international economic law and procedure, Kathleen has served as arbitrator, counsel, expert, public servant, and teacher. Her expertise covers several topics of international law, especially trade, investment, international business and labour; dispute settlement and international dispute bodies; national security and cybersecurity law; and administrative law issues surrounding U.S. foreign relations and transnational agreements.
Meredith Crowley is a Professor and Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge, Fellow of St. John’s College. She is also President of the International Economics and Finance Society, research at the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR - London), and a member of the Scientific Advisory Councils of CEPII and the Kiel Institute. Her research focuses on international trade, multinational trade agreements, and trade policy.
Iana Dreyer is Founder and Editor of Borderlex, with over fifteen years of international trade policy expertise. Previously, Iana has worked as a policy analyst for think tanks in international trade and energy policy, consulted for governments and worked with the European Centre for International Political Economy, the Institute Montaigne and the EU Institute for Security Studies.
Jun Du is Professor of Economics at Aston Business School. Jun is an applied economist whose main research interest is to understand the driving forces and impediments of productivity enhancement and economic growth, in both developed and emerging economic contexts (China in particular). Jun is linked with Chinese Social Science Academy and is also a research fellow in Advanced Institute of Management, and a member of several professional bodies.
Tim Figures is a Partner and Associate Director, EU Global Trade and Investment at Boston Consulting Group. A senior expert on geopolitics and trade impact, Tim works with private and public sector clients globally to analyse and explain changes to trade conditions and trade patterns, assess impact, and recommend actions to maintain competitiveness and value. His focus is on the intersection between climate action and the global trading system, as governments seek to shift supply chains and economic activity through policies such as green incentives or carbon border taxes.
Alejandro Fiorito is an Economist in the Economy, Strategy & Finance Center at The Conference Board in Brussels. He leads the work on Europe’s CEO confidence report, follows energy, monetary policy, and digital finance topics and covers the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. Prior to joining The Conference Board, he worked at the International Monetary Fund and at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC, focusing on macroeconomic projections, monetary policy, and Latin American economies
Michael Gasiorek is the Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP), Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and Co-Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. He is a specialist in international trade policy and regional integration with a keen interest in the policy relevance of his work. His recent research looks at how firms engage in international trade, the impact of Brexit on UK trade, the impact of Brexit on firms in Northern Ireland, and the impact of Generalised Scheme of Preferences on developing country trade.
Fiona Gooch is Senior Policy Adviser at Transform Trade (formerly Traidcraft), the original fair-trade pioneers in the UK, advocating the importance of organic farming, sustainability and transparency to the lives of growers and artisans around the world. Transform Trade promotes international trade being undertaken in a way which reduces poverty in developing countries.
Alejandro Graziano is Assistant Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham and a researcher at the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP). He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, his master’s in economics from Universidad de San Andres (Argentina), and his Economics Bachelor's degree from Universidad de Buenos Aires. Alejandro's main research interests are international trade, trade policy, and competition.
Javier Gutierrez is Counsellor at the World Trade Organization working on strategic communications and partnerships. He is the team leader for the WTO Public Forum. Javier has over 14 years of experience in international affairs, trade and economic policy at global, regional and national level. He is a multidisciplinary professional with a background in economics and international law, and a recognised public speaker and published author.
Jennifer Hillman is Professor of Practice at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching the lead courses in international business and international trade, while serving as a fellow of Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law. She is also co-director of the Center for Inclusive Trade and Development. Jennifer recently published Legal Aspects of Brexit: Implications of the United Kingdom’s Decision to Withdraw from the European Union and has written extensively about international trade law and the WTO.
George Holt is Research Manager at Trade Justice Movement, with expertise in public attitudes to trade. In 2024, she co-convened the UK's first Citizens' Assembly on Trade and Climate and has previously run a public dialogue on trade and consumer priorities (the National Trade Conversation) whilst working at Which? George has experience across a range of research methodologies as well as sectoral knowledge of UK and international trade.
Ilze Jozepa is a Senior Researcher at the UK House of Commons Library, specialising in international trade, subsidy control, procurement and related policies. She supports Members of Parliament by providing impartial research briefings on issues such as UK trade policy and trade agreements, economic security, post‑Brexit regulatory arrangements, and support for industry. Her work focuses on clearly explaining complex policy and legislative issues to support parliamentary scrutiny and debate.
Soumaya Keynes is Economics columnist at the Financial Times, having previously worked at The Economist where she covered economics, trade and globalisation. Soumaya won an award for comment from the Society for American Business Editors and Writers, co-hosted The Economist's Money Talks podcast and co-founded the Trade Talks podcast. She is also the author of How To Win A Trade War.
Sam Lowe is a Partner at Flint Global. In addition, he is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at The Policy Institute, Kings College London. Sam delivers training for trade officials, and writes the weekly Substack trade newsletter, Most Favoured Nation. Sam is a leading European trade expert who regularly advises government officials, ministers, parliamentarians and multinational companies on issues such as trade in services, regulatory barriers to trade, rules of origin and trade and the environment.
Emily Lydgate is Professor of Environmental Law, University of Sussex, Deputy Director of CITP and Deputy Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. Her research focuses on the relationship between environmental regulation and economic integration through trade. Emily advised the EFRA Committee (UK House of Commons) from 2021-24, and was an instructor for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Advanced Diplomatic Academy.
Sophia Ostler is Senior Policy Manager at The Fairtrade Foundation. Prior to this, Sophia worked in parliamentary and international relations at the UK Trade Remedies Authority and in the UK Parliament. She gained her PhD in Political Economy at Kings College London and went on to work as Post Doctoral Research Associate there, at the Global Institute for Women in Leadership and Cicely Saunders Institute.
Mona Paulsen is Assistant Professor of Law, LSE Law School. She holds a PhD in International Economic Law from The Dickson Poon School of Law, Kings College London and an LLM in International Law from The George Washington University School of Law. She is on the editorial board for World Trade Review and co-chairs a seminar series on International Economic Law & Policy.
Dennis Quinn is John J. Powers Professor of International Business and Professor of Government at Georgetown University. With an MA in Political Science, an MSc in Sociology and a PhD in Political Science, he specialises in international business, political economy and public policy. His current research looks at democratisation and economic liberalisation in emerging markets, the origins and consequences of international financial liberalisation, the impact of trade on US elections, globalisation, and international political economy.
Francisco J. Quintana is Lecturer in Global Law at the University of Edinburgh and Associate Editor at the European Journal of International Law (EJIL). Francisco is a scholar of international and global law. He draws on history, geopolitics, and political economy to show how small and medium powers use law to reshape the global distribution of power and resources.
Nivedita Sen is the Lead on Trade and Insights at the World Economic Forum where she works with businesses, governments and academia on the most critical and emerging trade issues. Focused on building strategic partnerships, fostering thought leadership, and developing solutions, Nivedita is particularly interested in international trade and investment, e-commerce, intellectual property, corporate governance, health and digital policy.
Neil Shearing is Group Chief Economist at Capital Economics and Associate Fellow, Global Economy at Chatham House. A well-known voice within the investment community, Neil has written articles in the Financial Times and several other newspapers, as well as appearing regularly on TV and radio. He previously worked as an Economic Adviser at HM Treasury in various areas, including fiscal policy and global economics. He is also the author of The Fractured Age.
Alasdair Smith is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and a researcher at the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. He is an international trade economist, with special interests in the economics of European trade and integration. Alasdair has written widely cited papers on the economics of the single market and on the Eastern enlargement of the EU; as well as more widely on trade and income distribution, competition policy, intertemporal economics, the economics of pensions, and the principles of microeconomics policy.
Mairi Spowage is Professor of Practice, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde and a member of the Leadership Team at the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. Mairi is also a Non-Executive Director at the UK Statistics Authority and has 20 years of experience working in different areas of statistics and analysis, including transport, household surveys and performance measurement. Her areas of expertise include economic policy, economic statistics, national accounting, public sector finances, and economic and fiscal forecasting.
Heather Stewart is Economics Editor at the Guardian, she joined in 2016 as Political Editor, becoming a special correspondent from 2022. Heather has written extensively on the performance, policy, and pressures shaping the UK economy, especially in the context of Brexit, Covid‑19, and shifting political priorities. She was awarded a BPhil and an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford.
Dimitris Valatsas is a founding partner and Chief Economist of Aurora Macro Strategies, leading its Economics & Markets practice. He has over a decade of experience advising asset managers, hedge funds, family offices, and other financial institutions on macroeconomic and market developments, focusing on the U.S. and Europe. In addition, Dimitris is an advisor for LGA, a family enterprise advisory firm. Dimitris holds an AB in Economics from Harvard University and a Master’s in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford; he is a CFA Charterholder.
Claire Vince is a Director in the Department for Business and Trade, focusing on global trade and delivery, and has represented the UK in parliamentary committees and at the World Trade Organization (WTO). She is a key figure in UK trade policy, supporting initiatives like free trade agreements (FTAs) and supporting businesses, including women in trade, through government departments. Prior to joining the civil service, Claire had a senior career with the British Council overseas and worked in Greece, Portugal and Italy.
L. Alan Winters is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Founding Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex, and former Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP). Alan is a leading specialist on the empirical and policy analysis of international trade, including that of Europe and of developing countries, and a major contributor to the debate on Brexit and post-Brexit trade policy.