International cooperation between cooperation and interest politics

Topic: International cooperation between cooperation and interest politics

Speaker: Prof. Thomas Grebel, TU Ilmenau

Time: Friday, November 14, 2025, 3:00 p.m.

Place: TU Ilmenau, Faraday lecture hall, Weimarer Straße 32, access via Prof.-Schmidt-Straße

Admission: 5 Euro

International economic relations are based on the idea that everyone involved benefits from trade - because countries specialize in what they produce more efficiently compared to others. But what happens when economic policy decisions are not based on economic logic but on national interests? The foreign trade policy of the USA under President Donald Trump is exemplary of this development: with the slogan "America First", punitive tariffs and the questioning of multilateral trade agreements, the world's largest economy is taking an increasingly protectionist stance.

In his lecture at the TU Ilmenau Citizens' Campus, Prof. Thomas Grebel, Head of the Group of Economic Policy at TU Ilmenau, introduces the basic economic principles of international trade. He sheds light on the political shaping of global economic relations and shows how economic cooperation can come under pressure. Using current examples, Grebel reflects on the consequences of this course for global markets, supply chains and international cooperation - and what this means for the future.

Ursula Nirsberger
TU Ilmenau Citizens' Campus
+ 49 3677 69 4794
buergercampus@tu-ilmenau.de