International Trade and the Transition to a More Resource Efficient and Circular Economy

The transition towards a more resource efficient and circular economy has broad linkages with international trade through the emergence of global value chains as well as trade in second-hand goods, end-of-life products, secondary materials and waste. Despite of the potential linkages between trade and the circular economy, the existing research on this issue is limited to date. For this reason, this paper highlights the potential interaction of international trade and the circular economy in order to map out potential issues to address and to guide further research areas to explore on this topic. The paper first briefly introduces the circular economy concept and how trade can come into play, second highlights the various ways in which trade and the circular economy can potentially interact with one another, and third briefly concludes with potential ways forward and next steps.