Launch Event - Annual Report 2025

This event will officially launch and highlight selected insights from the Sustainable Global Supply Chains Report 2025 on “Geoeconomic Fragmentation, Global Value Chains, and the Future of the Global South”. The report consists of 10 concise chapters, written by the hosts and members of the Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains, which synthesize the latest research on how geoeconomic fragmentation is reshaping global value chains and what these changes mean for the future of the Global South. Central themes include the changing geography of trade and investment, the implications of geopolitical rivalry for global production networks, the evolving prospects for export-led development, and the opportunities and challenges arising from strategic competition over critical raw materials. In addition, several chapters examine how climate-related trade measures and supply chain due diligence regulations are transforming international trade relations and affecting development prospects in the Global South. Throughout the report, particular emphasis is placed on the conditions under which developing countries can strengthen resilience, foster structural transformation and achieve sustainable and inclusive development in an increasingly fragmented global economy.

Speakers:

Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

Andrea Presbitero, Economist at the International Monetary Fund

Alfonso Medinilla, Head of Climate and Green Transition at the European Centre for Development Policy Management 

Gesine Schmidt-Grosser, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Agenda

12:30 Opening Remarks

Bärbel Kofler
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development 

12:40 Introduction

Rainer Thiele
Kiel Institute

12:50 Session 1

‘A New Cold War? How Trade and Investment Linkages are Changing’
By Gita Gopinath, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Andrea Presbitero, Petia Topalova

13:20 Session 2

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): risks and opportunities for developing countries
By Alfonso Medinilla 

13:50 Wrap-up

Gesine Schmidt-Grosser, BMZ
Rainer Thiele, Kiel Institute

This event is part of the project “Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains” led by the German Development Institute (IDOS), the Kiel Institute for World Economy (IfW), the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).