Complex supply chains and evolving market access have delivered a global economic interdependence that has been important in terms of growth and prosperity, but also in encouraging and reinforcing stability in other areas of international cooperation and governance. This interdependence has become increasingly unstable in the context of growing geopolitical confrontations, serving to remind us that cooperation, universal rules and values, are both difficult to obtain and by no means permanent.
While such political and trading tensions continue to rise and as the EU seeks to strike a balance between increased strategic autonomy and a continued support for multilateralism, this Forum Europe TRADE 2021 Conference will look at what reforms are necessary to international institutions, at the state of, and prospects for relations between trading blocs. Following the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference and COP26, we will also discuss issues pertaining to supply chain security, how the mega trends of national security, digital trade, and climate change will all be impacted by the directions taken in the short to medium term.
The Multilateral Trading System
What now and what next?
Trade & Digital
New frontiers, new barriers?
Climate & Trade
Building back better
Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Director-General, WTO Jean-Marie Paugam is Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva since 2021. Before this, he was Permanent Representative of France to the WTO. Mr. Paugam has held various Senior Management responsibilities on Trade, Development and International Finance, with the French Treasury and with the UN system (International Trade Center). He also was Senior Research Fellow with the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), France’s leading think-tank on international affairs. M. Paugam graduated in 1993 from the French National Administration School (ENA) and holds a Master Degree in Business Law as well as a Diploma of Political Sciences from the University of Aix-Marseille.
Deputy Director General
WTO
Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Director of Multilateral Affairs, Strategy and Economic Analysis, DG Trade, European Commission Director of Multilateral Affairs, Strategy, Analysis and Evaluation, DG TRADE
European Commission
Bernd Lange, MEP and INTA Chair, European Parliament Born on November 14, 1955 in Oldenburg, grew up and attended school in Varel / Friesland district, parents were independent gas station merchants. 2 children, living in the Hannover region
Since 2019: Chair of the Fair Trade Working Group of the European Parliament; Member of the Brexit Steering Group of the European Parliament (since January 2020: EU-UK Coordination Group); Member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
MEP & INTA Chair
European Parliament
Audrey Plonk, Head of Digital Economy Policy, OECD Bio will follow shortly
Head of Digital Economy Policy
OECD
Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) Dr. Carolyn Deere Birkbeck is the Director of the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs, a partnership between the Graduate Institute and UNEP, housed at the Geneva Trade Platform. She is also a Senior Researcher at the Institute’s Global Governance Centre, where she leads a research project on the political economy and regulation of the global plastics economy, supported by the Swiss Network of International Studies. She is an Associate Fellow of the Chatham House and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Global Economic Governance Programme.
Dr. Deere Birkbeck is the founder and Board Chair of Global Policy Reporting, a Geneva-based non-profit organisation dedicated to open access, independent and professional news reporting, which houses Health Policy Watch (launched in 2019) and Intellectual Property Watch for the prior 15 years. Before moving to academia, Dr. Deere Birkbeck served as an Assistant Director at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York where she was responsible for grantmaking on intellectual property, trade and sustainable development. Previously, she worked in Washington, D.C. for the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and as the Manager of the Congressional Staff Forum on International Development at the Overseas Development Council.
Carolyn has been a consultant to a range of non-governmental and international organisations, including UNEP, UNCTAD, Chatham House, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNDP’s Office of the Human Development Report, the National Wildlife Federation, the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy, the Open Society Institute, the South Centre and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
Carolyn is the author of Greening International Trade: Pathways Forward (TESS and partners, 2021), The Governance of WIPO: A Reference Guide (Edward Elgar Press, 2016) and Governing the World Intellectual Property Organization: The Power Politics of Institutional Crisis and Reform (forthcoming). She is also the editor of Making Global Trade Governance Work for Development: Perspectives and Priorities from Developing Countries (Cambridge University Press 2011), author of The Implementation Game: The TRIPS Agreement and the Global Politics of Intellectual Property Reform in Developing Countries (Oxford University Press 2009, paperback 2011), and the co-editor (with Dan Esty) of Greening the Americas: NAFTA’s Lessons for Hemispheric Trade (MIT Press 2002). She holds a DPhil in International Relations (University College, Oxford), an MA in International Relations (Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies) and a bachelors degree in political economy from the University of Sydney.
Director
Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS)
Anne Olhoff, Head of Strategy, Climate Planning and Policy, UNEP DTU Partnership Anne Olhoff leads the strategic planning and implementation of climate planning and policy activities at the UNEP DTU Partnership. She has more than 20 years of experience in international research, technical assistance and policy advice on climate change adaptation and mitigation in the context of sustainable development, with strong experience from developing countries. Since 2012, Anne, together with colleagues, has worked with the UN Environment Programme on the annual Emissions Gap Reports and has been instrumental in managing, editing and co-authoring these reports. Anne is a member of several steering committees, including for the LEDS Global Partnership, the Adaptation Gap Report and of the World Adaptation Science Programme. She received the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) award for scientific advice in 2017 and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Roskilde in Denmark.
Head of Strategy, Climate Planning and Policy,
UNEP DTU Partnership
Poppy Carnell, Chief Correspondent, MLex Poppy has been reporting for MLex since 2008, providing the latest coverage and in-depth analysis on various EU regulation. Since 2012 she has broken stories and given comment on trade defense matters, trade and investment agreements and commercial policy. Previously, she was reporting on energy policy and climate change negotiations.
An award-winning reporter, she trained at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, and since then has freelanced for a variety of publications.
Chief Correspondent
MLex
Commissioner, DG Trade
European Commission
MEP & Chair, Committee on International Trade
European Parliament
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development
European Commission
Director, DG TRADE,
European Commission
Head of Unit, Trade Strategy, DG Trade
European Commission
*Positions and organisations at time of contribution
If you are interested in speaking, sponsorship and visibility opportunities, please contact Geraldine Evans at [email protected] / +44 (0) 2920 780 070.
Note: All timings are in Central European Time (CET)
08:30 – 09:00
Virtual Platform and Networking Area Opening
09:00 – 09:30
Keynote Session
09:30 – 11:00
The decay of the rules-based international trading system has had the twin effect of forcing countries and blocs to seek to be more self-reliant, while at the same time strengthening calls for reforms of institutions such as the WTO, the latter being a priority in the EU’s new trade strategy. This session will delve into how the EU and the international community can cooperate to reform and rebuild a sustainable and effective system for global trade, one fit for the economic, social and climate challenges of the 21st century.
It will discuss the EU’s reinforced focus on the implementation and enforcement of trade agreements and on the transparency of trade practices to ensure a level playing field for businesses. It will examine the work being done to develop instruments to protect European companies and citizens from unfair and abusive trade practices, including via the preparation of an anti-coercion instrument. It will look at prospects for trading relations between the new US administration, an EU pushing for greater autonomy, China – following the conclusion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment – and others, such as neighbouring states and developing countries. It will explore how trade policy can support the EU’s geopolitical goals, and how COVID-19 and the economic recovery period might change the nature of the trading landscape.
11:00 – 12:30
The pandemic has reinforced the extent to which digital technologies, data, and services are critical to global commerce, with technology firms and those operating across digital sectors sitting at the heart of both the upside of demand, and the downside of supply issues and geopolitics.
A recent shortage in semiconductors as result of a confluence of a demand spike and a rise in diplomatic tensions, has led to the idling of car plants around the world, while the production of consumer electronics has slowed or stalled. As the EU pushes for increased autonomy, and while the rollout of digital infrastructures such as 5G in Europe is the subject of much debate, seeking consensus on what a post-Covid global trading landscape should look like is essential in ensuring the digital transition is as equitable as possible.
This session will analyse how digital and data in global trade is evolving, what the prospects are for common standards and cooperation on issues such as cyber security, international data flows, AI and other emerging technologies through global collaboration initiatives such as the EU-US Tech and Trade Technology Council. This session will also examine whether the range of supply chain, infrastructure security concerns and loss of trust in the multilateral system therefore necessitates a retreat to more regional self-reliance and resilience. By exploring the provisions included in the Communication “2030 Digital Compass: the European Way for the Digital Decade” that was released in March, the session will discuss the role that fair and sustainable trade rules can play in ensuring the EU economy competitiveness in a global digital market.
12:30 – 13:30
13:30 – 13:45
Afternoon Keynote Session
13:45 – 15:15
By including sustainability as an explicit and central pillar of its new trade strategy for the first time, the Commission is restating its commitment to fulfil its Green Deal ambitions and to support the transition to a climate-neutral EU economy. The relationship between global trade and climate change is however complex. This session will assess where it is possible to achieve significant impact within this interaction both via the EU and through international cooperation. It will discuss how recent and future policy initiatives, such as the proposed Fit-for-55 package, an upcoming legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance introducing mandatory due diligence requirements to contribute to more sustainable supply chains mechanisms, and the review of the 15-point action plan on implementing and enforcing the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters of its trade agreements can promote sustainability action and support the green transition globally. Following on from issues discussed during COP26 and as the race for zero emissions gains momentum, how can EU trade policy help to drive the use of green goods and services, while encouraging the adoption of climate-friendly policies in other countries? What steps can the international community take to better align global trade and environmental governance?
15:15 – 15:45
To discuss sponsorship and visibility opportunities at The Trade 2021 Conference, please contact Geraldine Evans on [email protected] / +44 (0) 2920 783 070.
Exclusive speaking positions | Your organisation can contribute to the discussion and be a thought leader on the ‘main stage’.
Customised Presentations | Showcase your products and solutions or share a position paper with the audience via a pre-recorded presentation with the audience in our Trade Hub
Engaging and Interactive format | Engage in a fully immersive and interactive debate with decisionmakers, businesses and policymakers.
EU and global outreach | Convey your message to a broad and international audience.
Networking opportunities | The event will feature virtual networking for all interested participants. Private meeting rooms can also be booked.
Visibility Opportunities | Ensure maximum visibility through branding on the event website and marketing activities.
This event will be taking place using Forum Europe’s virtual solution. For more details, please visit forum-europe.com
For more information on any aspect of this event, please contact Geraldine Evans using any of the details below.
Geraldine Evans
Event Manager
Forum Europe
Tel: +44 (0) 2920 783 070
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