Commercial policy
Government's policy governing international trade
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| 2024 | Ministry restored to its original name of Ministry of Economic Affairs, with the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth being spun off as a separate entity. |
| July 2024 | Dirk Beljaarts became the Minister of Economic Affairs, taking office in July 2024. |
| 2023 |
Free trade
A study published in the Journal of Political Economy revealed significant economic impacts of reduced trade costs since 1980, demonstrating increased agricultural productivity, food consumption, and welfare gains globally, with particularly substantial benefits for developing countries.
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| September 2023 | CCPIT publicly criticized the United States' CHIPS and Science Act, signaling the organization's stance against perceived trade barriers and technology restrictions. |
| September 4 2023 | Established the Private Economy Development Bureau to monitor the country's private economy and establish regular communication with private businesses. |
| March 12 2023 | Zheng Shanjie becomes the current Chairperson of the National Development and Reform Commission under Premier Li Qiang. |
| October 26 2022 | Tomislav Momirović appointed as Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade under Prime Minister Brnabić's third cabinet and Prime Minister Vučević's first cabinet |
| 2021 |
Washington Consensus
A study on sub-Saharan Africa found that Washington Consensus implementation led to initial economic growth declines in the 1980s and 1990s, but notable increases in per capita real GDP growth post-2000, particularly when pro-poor policies were implemented alongside market-oriented reforms.
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| 2021 |
Washington Consensus
A study examining the Washington Consensus implementation in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico found mixed results, noting improved macroeconomic stability but heterogeneous and generally disappointing economic growth.
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| 2021 |
Free trade
A comprehensive economic study was conducted across 151 countries, examining the impact of tariffs from 1963 to 2014. The research revealed persistent negative economic consequences of tariff increases, including declines in domestic output, productivity, higher unemployment, increased inequality, and real exchange rate appreciation.
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| 2021 |
Export control
LITE export control administration system begins phasing in, with plans for a public beta for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) from September 2024.
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| October 2021 | Published rules restricting private capital in news-gathering, editing, broadcasting, and distribution. |
| September 9 2021 |
Export control
Council EU Regulation 2021/821 came into force, replacing the previous 428/2009 regulation and updating the export control requirements for sensitive items in the European Union.
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| April 15 2021 |
Washington Consensus
New York Times publishes an obituary for John Williamson, the economist who originally coined the term 'Washington Consensus'.
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| April 7 2021 |
Washington Consensus
Wall Street Journal publishes an article by Greg Ip discussing 'Bidenomics' and its potential departure from the traditional Washington Consensus.
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| 2020 |
Washington Consensus
A study revealed that Washington Consensus policies significantly raised real GDP per capita over a 5- to 10-year horizon.
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| 2020 | CCPIT began issuing force majeure certificates to Chinese companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping businesses manage contractual trade obligations disrupted by the global health crisis. |
| December 19 2020 | Published rules for reviewing foreign investment on national security grounds, allowing government agencies to preview, deny, and punish foreign investment activities deemed critical to national security. |
| October 28 2020 | Tatjana Matić becomes Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications under Prime Minister Brnabić's second cabinet |
| 2019 | Irish government allocated an additional €10 million to IDA Ireland's property programme to further promote regional development. |
| 2019 | IDA Ireland received €2 million allocation in the Irish government's budget to prepare for Brexit and enhance Ireland's global business presence. |
| February 2019 | Launched an updated Q&A guide to help private equity firms and investors prepare for the UK's exit from the European Union (Brexit), demonstrating proactive support for the industry during a period of significant political change. |
| 2018 |
Free trade
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership came into force, involving eleven countries with Pacific Ocean borders to reduce trade barriers.
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| 2018 | Transferred antitrust law enforcement to the State Administration for Market Regulation and climate policymaking functions to the newly created Ministry of Ecology and Environment. |
| 2018 | The United States moves away from its 'worldwide' tax system, potentially impacting Ireland's attractiveness as a corporate base for U.S. multinationals. |
| 2018 | S&P Global Market Intelligence study identified Ireland as a leader in attracting financial businesses relocating from London, alongside Germany, in the context of Brexit. |
| 2018 | ZTE paid an additional $1 billion and placed $400 million in suspended penalty money in escrow to be removed from the Denied Persons List. |
| October 2018 | The Hague Court of Appeal ruled against the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the climate change lawsuit, upholding the lower court's decision requiring action on emissions reduction. |
| April 15 2018 | BIS activated a suspended denial order against ZTE after the company falsely claimed to have disciplined employees responsible for export violations, when they were actually rewarded with bonuses. |
| 2017 | Announced the creation of China's national carbon emissions trading system. |
| 2017 | Ministry renamed to Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, incorporating environmental policy portfolios from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. |
| 2017 | The United States implemented the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, overhauling the tax code and switching to a 'territorial' system, which fundamentally changed the tax landscape for multinational corporations in Ireland. |
| 2017 | IDA Ireland successfully reached its targeted 80,000 jobs goal two years ahead of the original 2019 timeline. |
| 2017 | The Trump administration began imposing tariffs on multiple nations involved in trade deals with the United States, marking a significant shift in US commercial policy and international trade relations. |
| March 2017 | ZTE reached a settlement agreement with the US government, agreeing to pay $892,360,064 in penalties for illegally shipping US-origin items to Iran and lying to federal investigators. |
| February 24 2017 | He Lifeng becomes the Chairperson of the National Development and Reform Commission. |
| 2016 | Signed an agreement with Alibaba Group to promote rural e-commerce development. |
| 2015 | Apple completed a massive BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) inversion, significantly impacting Ireland's economic landscape by representing approximately 25% of Irish GDP. |
| 2015 | Irish government announced a five-year strategic plan for IDA Ireland, targeting 80,000 jobs by 2019 and investing €150 million in a regional property programme to accelerate economic recovery. |
| October 1 2015 | Rebranded from EVCA to Invest Europe, marking a significant transformation in the organization's identity and positioning. |
| June 2015 | The Hague District Court ruled against the Ministry of Economic Affairs in a climate change lawsuit filed by Urgenda, finding the ministry was unlawfully violating its duty of care by failing to adequately address greenhouse gas emissions. |
| February 2015 | Completed an investigation into Qualcomm for Anti-Monopoly Law violations, resulting in a fine of US$975 million. |
| April 27 2014 | Rasim Ljajić transitions to Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications under Prime Ministers Vučić and Brnabić |
| March 16 2013 | Xu Shaoshi takes over the leadership of the National Development and Reform Commission under Premier Li Keqiang. |
| 2012 | Ministry reverted to its previous name of Ministry of Economic Affairs while retaining agricultural responsibilities. |
| 2012 | The United Kingdom completes its transition to a territorial tax system, further influencing global corporate tax strategies. |
| December 2012 | Huaxing Construction pleaded guilty, marking the first time a Chinese corporate entity entered a guilty plea in a US criminal export matter. They agreed to pay a $2 million criminal fine (with $1 million suspended), implement an export compliance program, and accept a five-year Denial Order with conditions. |
| December 2012 | Xun Wang is sentenced to 12 months in prison, receives a $100,000 criminal fine, and given one year of probation. In a civil settlement, Wang agrees to pay a $250,000 civil penalty and is placed on the Denied Persons List for ten years, with five years suspended. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles IDA Ireland, Office of Export Enforcement, Commercial policy, National Development and Reform Commission, Export control, Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade (Serbia), Free trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands), China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Washington Consensus & Invest Europe, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.