Press Release: CILOS Research Initiative Informs Peterson Institute Policy Brief on Ukraine’s Postwar Recovery
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Updated: 3 days ago
Washington, D.C. | May 07, 2026
The Council on International Law, Order, and Security (CILOS) is pleased to announce that research it supported on U.S.-Ukraine trade prospects contributed to a new policy brief published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) in March 2026.
The policy brief, "Anchoring Ukraine's Postwar Recovery with a US-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement," was authored by Robert Z. Lawrence — a nonresident senior fellow at PIIE and professor at Harvard Kennedy School — and Sergii Telenyk, a public policy and law graduate of Harvard and NYU. The paper makes the case that a bilateral free trade agreement could do more than open markets: it could serve as an institutional anchor for Ukraine's postwar governance reforms, strengthen investor confidence, and embed Ukraine more durably within Western economic and legal frameworks.
“Ukraine’s postwar recovery is not simply a question of reconstruction funding; it is a test of whether law, markets, and strategic policy can work together to secure the future of a sovereign state,” said Omer Niazi, Founder and President of CILOS. “Long-term recovery will require more than emergency assistance. It will require credible institutions, durable investment protections, regulatory transparency, and deeper economic ties that bind Ukraine more firmly to the United States and Europe. The central policy question is how Ukraine’s reconstruction can create the conditions for long-term private investment, institutional reform, and strategic alignment with the West. This research speaks directly to that question by examining how trade and investment policy can support economic recovery while also strengthening Ukraine’s security and place within the international order. Supporting this kind of forward looking policy-focused work is central to CILOS’s mission,” added Niazi.
The Peterson Institute policy brief explores how a U.S.-Ukraine free trade agreement could serve as a tool for economic reconstruction, institutional reform, and strategic alignment. It analyzes opportunities for expanded cooperation in agriculture, metallurgy, nuclear energy, critical minerals, defense industrial cooperation, investment protection, and regulatory reform.
For CILOS, the publication reflects the organization's broader conviction that the future of international order runs through the details: the treaty texts, the institutional designs, and the legal commitments that either hold or fail when pressure mounts. Ukraine's path forward is one of the most consequential tests of those frameworks in a generation.
The Peterson Institute brief acknowledges CILOS for its support of research on U.S.-Ukraine trade, underscoring the organization’s role in helping advance policy analysis on Ukraine’s postwar economic future.
About CILOS
The Council on International Law, Order, and Security (CILOS) is an independent, nonpartisan policy research think tank and advisory institution working to address the growing challenges facing global order in the twenty-first century. Centered at the intersection of international law, international order, and international security, the council brings together leaders, intellectuals, and academics to inform policy and strategic thinking and contribute to debate on international affairs.
Note: The Peterson Institute policy brief was authored independently by Robert Z. Lawrence and Sergii Telenyk. This release describes CILOS’s role in supporting research on the prospects of U.S.-Ukraine trade. The views expressed in the Peterson Institute publication are those of the authors.