World Trade Institute
The World Trade Institute is an interdisciplinary centre at the University of Bern focused on research, education, and policy support in the areas of global economic governance, international economic law, and international economic sustainability.
Overview
The WTI was established in 1995 in connection with the Uruguay Round. However, only in 1999 it was set up as an inter-university research institution and training centre of the University of Bern, the University of Fribourg, and the University of Neuchâtel within the framework of world trade law with the support of the World Trade Organisation. Since 2009, the WTI is one of the strategic “Centres of Excellence” within the University of Bern, with a global profile in both research and education. The Swiss National Science Foundation played an important role in the transformation of the WTI into a Swiss university centre of excellence through the SNSF funded National Competence Centre for Research on global economic governance. Other NCCR-based centers at the University of Bern include NCCR PlanetS, NCCR Climate, and NCCR RNA and Disease. Together with the European University Institute, the WTI organizes the annual World Trade Forum.Its research and impact assessments on the negotiation, structure, enforcement, and effects of international economic agreements feature in public policy debates. Notable faculty include Manfred Elsig, Joseph Francois, Peter Van den Bossche, Thomas Cottier, Michael Hahn. Visiting professors include Felix Addor, Arthur E. Appleton, and Luca Rubini. Some of the professors are part of the editorial board of the World Trade Review, an academic peer-reviewed journal in the field of economic law, which was created as an initiative of the WTO.