Meet Swati Dhingra, Indian-origin academic on UK's new expert trade panel

Swati Dhingra, a London-based Indian-origin economics professor will advise UK government on new trade models and partnerships for post-Brexit Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries.

At the London School of Economics, Swati Dhingra is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Political Science. She is a former alumni of the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, and now forms a part of the five-member panel set up by the Department for International Trade (DIT) in the U.K.

Dhingra will focus on using trade modelling to identify the potential impacts of its trade agreements for the U.K.

Dhingra is the co-author of the recent “Life after Brexit” report published by the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance, which looked at the UK’s options outside of the EU. She is also associate editor of the Journal of International Economics.

Dhingra is not new to awards. She is the recipient of the FIW Young Economist Award. Dhingra's research focus is on globalisation and industrial policy for which she picked the Chair Jacquemin Award by the European Trade Study Group.

"The department is updating its modelling to reflect the modern economy and seismic changes we’ve seen over the past decade – not least the impact of tech, rising protectionism and Coronavirus." said UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in a detailed release.

"Better modelling will help us capture the full benefits of free trade agreements and strike British-shaped deals that suit our economy and deliver for the whole country," Truss said.

The new panel will advise the Chief Economist of the Department of Trade in the UK on how best to incorporate wider global economic developments including the impact of COVID-19.

Dhingra is part of a "bespoke panel", which will take these factors into account and advise on how to reflect them in future trade models.

India is among the list of countries the UK hopes to strike an FTA with and talks remain ongoing to strike so-called "early harvest" deals ahead of a wider agreement.

The others included in the panel are Professor Michael Plummer, Eni Professor of International Economics at the Bologna Institute for Policy Research at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe, Dr Graham Gudgin, Honorary Research Associate at the Centre for Business Research (CBR) in the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and Dr Christine McDaniel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.