MARTA SOPRANA

Welcome! I am a researcher and trade policy advisor, specialised in digital trade, services and global trade governance, bringing over 15 year of experience advising governments and the private sector.

I consulted for a number of international organizations and development partners, including the WTO, ITC, FAO, UNCTAD, UNESCAP and the World Bank, on services regulation and policy, e-commerce and trade policy formulation. I have advised a number of LDC and developing country governments on services regulation and commitments, including through bespoke training and coaching. I have undertaken innovative analytical work in international trade and has published several papers on services liberalisation, e-commerce and MSMEs.

Currently an Associate at LSE IDEAS for the Digital IR project, I previously worked as a Fellow in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where I teach courses for undergraduate and graduate students on the political economy of trade. In 2024 I won the LSESU Teaching Award for Personal and Professional Development.

I hold a PhD cum laude from Bocconi University, a Master in International law and Economics (MILE) summa cum laude from the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, and a MA in International Relations and Diplomatic studies from the University of Bologna.

With an interdisciplinary background in the field of political science and law, I specialize in interdisciplinary research. My most recent research projects have focused on the nexus between AI governance and international trade and on digital economy agreements.

I am a member of the TradeExperettes, for which I co-founded and co-lead the mentoring programme. Since 2015 I have also participated as mentor in the mentoring programme organized by the WTI for their MILE and TRAIL+ graduate students.

Peer-reviewed Articles
2024, Compatibility of Emerging AI Regulation with GATS and TBT: the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Journal of International Economic Law
2021, The Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA): Assessing the Significance of the New Trade Agreement on the Block, Trade Law and Development, 13 (1), 143-169.
2019, Extraterritoriality in US – China relations: the ZTE and Huawei cases, Diritto del Commercio Internazionale, XXXIII (4), 717-733.
2018, ‘Disciplining Services Sector Subsidies: Where Do We Stand and Where Can We (Realistically) Go?’, (with P. Sauvé), Journal of International Economic Law, 21( 3), 599–619.
2018, ‘Mission Impossible? The Political Economy of Disciplines on Investment Incentives’, (with P. Sauvé), Journal of World Trade, 52 (2), 1–20.
2013, ‘SMEs in Services Trade – A GATS Perspective’, (with R. Adlung), Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, 48 (1), 41-50, .

Book chapters
2020, ‘The Evolution of the EU Digital Trade Policy‘, (with P. Sauvé), in Michael Hahn and Guillaume Van der Loo (eds.), Law and Practice of the Common Commercial Policy, Brill | Nijhoff, 285–304.
2017, ‘Trade Policy for SMEs from a GATS Perspective’, (with R. Adlung), in Thilo Rensmann (eds), Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, 13-37.
2014, ‘Skies Wide Shut – An assessment of International Air Transport Liberalisation’, (with P. Latrille and A. Carzaniga), in James Peoples (ed.), Advances in Airline Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 61-125.

Encyclopedia entries and commentaria
2024, ‘Digital Trade’, in Nadakavukaren Schefe K., Cottier T. & Polanco R. (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law, 2nd edition, Edward Elgar Publishing.
2023, ‘Article XV GATS’, (with Pietro Poretti), in Stoll P.-T. & Hestermeyer H. P. (eds.), Commentaries on World Trade Law: Volume 5: Trade in Services (GATS), Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff.
2019, ‘Appellate Body Report, Brazil – Certain Measures Concerning Taxation and Charges’, in Giorgio Sacerdoti (eds.), The WTO in 2018: Systemic Developments, Disputes and Review of the Appellate Body’s Reports, Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3392194.

Book reviews and Blogs
2024, ‘Book Review: ‘International Trade Law and Global Data Governance: Aligning Perspectives and Practices’ by Neha Mishra‘, The Journal of World Investment and Trade, vol. 25, issue 5-6, 790-798
2024, ‘Book Review: ‘Is Artificial Intelligence Racist? The Ethics of AI and the Future of Humanity’ by Arshin Adib-Moghaddam’, LSE Review of Books.
2020, Outward FDI and a global compact on home-country investment incentives, Columbia FDI Perspectives, N. 274, 23 March.

Policy-oriented reports
2020, ‘Trading Services for a Circular Economy’, International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Finnish Innovation Fund, Geneva: International Institute for Sustainable Development, (with al.).
2020, ‘Leveraging ICT-enabled services for Trade in Times of Pandemic: the case of AI-enabled health services’, Policy Hackathon on Model Provisions for Trade in Times of Crisis and Pandemic, Bangkok: UNESCAP.
2018, ‘Facilitation 2.0: Services and Trade in the Digital Age’, RTA Exchange, Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and Inter- American Development Bank.
2016, ‘Services liberalization in transition economies: The case of North and Central Asia’, ARTNeT Working Paper Series No. 162, 2016, Bangkok: ESCAP.
2016, ‘Services and Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Approach’, Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), (with al.).
2016, ‘Bringing SMEs onto the e-Commerce Highway’, Geneva: International Trade Centre, (with al.).
2016, ‘Disciplining Investment Incentives: A Lost Cause?’, E15Initiative, Geneva: ICTSD and World Economic Forum, (with P. Sauvé).
2015, ‘Learning by Not Doing: Subsidy Disciplines in Services Trade’, E15Initiative, Geneva: ICTSD and World Economic Forum, (with P. Sauvé).

MARTA SOPRANA

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