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Agenda

What next for the WTO?

8:15

Registration & Coffee/Tea

8:45

Welcoming Remarks: Thomas Leonardi, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy, AIG

9:30

Keynote: Ambassador Dennis Shea, Deputy United States Trade Representative, Geneva

9:00

Session 1: What are the prospects for successful WTO reform?

The US –Japan–EU trilateral is working on proposals to empower the WTO to deal with market-distorting subsidies and mandatory technology transfers by countries like China. Canada convened a mini-ministerial meeting to discuss reform; and the EU has tabled a proposal for dispute settlement reforms. Some see these initiatives as the WTO’s last chance to remain relevant. Where does this work stand? What remedies should be considered? And what are the chances of success?

  • Denis Redonnet, Director of WTO, Legal Affairs and Trade in Goods, European Commission
  • Tetsuya Watanabe, Director-General, Multilateral Trade System Department, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
  • Jennifer Hillman, Professor from Practice, Georgetown Law
  • John Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce
  • Marianne Schneider-Petsinger, Geoeconomics Fellow, US and the Americas Programme, Chatham House

Moderated by: Shawn Donnan, Bloomberg

10:45

Coffee/Tea break

11:15

Session 2: If the reform process stalls, what next?

Could new plurilateral agreements fill the gap? How should members respond to free- riders in the global trade system? Could a subset of members deploy dispute settlement alternatives? Are there alternatives which can accommodate the US administration’s interpretation of free and fair trade? And if not, what does the future hold for trade governance in a period of growing protectionism?

  • Rufus Yerxa, President, National Foreign Trade Council
  • Soumaya Keynes, The Economist
  • Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Former CEO, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
  • Chiedu Osakwe, Chief Trade Negotiator, Nigeria

Moderated by Rem Korteweg, Head, Europe in the World Unit, Clingendael Research, Netherlands Institute of International Relations

12:15

Session 3: What are the implications of all this for business?

What are the business costs of a breakdown in the multilateral trade order? How does the paralysis of its negotiating function affect business? What would be the consequences of a breakdown of the dispute settlement function? Could these factors affect investment decisions, compliance costs, or other business conditions? And what can business do about it?

  • Dontai Smalls, Vice President, Global Public Affairs, UPS
  • Caroline Krass, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, AIG
  • Sofia Bournou, Senior Advisor, BusinessEurope
  • Eric Pelletier, Global Head of Government Relations, Alibaba

Moderated by: Chris Southworth, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce, United Kingdom

13:30 - 14:30

Lunch
Europe and the 'new normal' in global trade

8:30

Registration & Coffee/Tea

9:00

Welcoming Remarks

  • Thomas Lillelund, Chief Executive Officer, AIG Europe
  • Victor Schoenmakers, Director Corporate Strategy, Port of Rotterdam Authority

 

9:15

Keynote Speech: Ambassador Alan Wolff, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation

9:45

In conversation: What Next for the WTO?

  • Jennifer A. Hillman, Professor from Practice, Georgetown Law
  • Ambassador Marc Vanheukelen, Permanent Mission of the European Union to the World Trade Organisation

 

10:15

Session 1: Brexit, Trump & Xi – What options for Europe?

How should Europe respond to trade tensions with Trump, China’s ambitious Belt & Road Initiative and popular concerns about globalisation? How will Brexit influence European trade policy and how can Europe set global standards when the trade system is under stress? As the US-China trade conflict raises the spectre of growing protectionism, is the EU destined to be a bystander, or can Europe lead the effort to protect and promote global free trade?
 

  • Alan Beattie, European Editorial Writer of the Financial Times;  Associate Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Department and Europe Programme, Chatham House
  • Ambassador Anthony Gardner, Senior Advisor, Brunswick Group
  • Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, Director,  European Centre for International Political Economy
  • Phillipe Legrain, Senior Visiting Fellow, LSE European Institute
  • Marietje Schaake, Member of the European Parliament

Moderated by Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute

 

11:30

Coffee/Tea Break

11:45

Session 2: In conversation with the Port of Rotterdam: How are global trade hubs responding to political, technological and climate change?
 

  • Kristof de Bremme, Global Head of Marine, AIG
  • Victor Schoenmakers, Director Corporate Strategy, Port of Rotterdam Authority

Moderated by Matthew Oxenford, Research Associate, Global Economy and Finance, Chatham House

 

12:15

Session 3: How is technological change transforming the landscape of global trade?

 

This session looks at the impact on trade patterns of changing trends in technology, digitisation and economic development. How will technologies like blockchain, automation and 3-D printing reshape globalisation? And who stands to benefit?
 

  • Marilyn Blattner-Hoyle, Global Head of Trade Finance, AIG
  • Brian Kennedy, Economist, DG Trade, European Commission
  • Roberta Piermartini, Senior Economist, World Trade Organisation
  • Richard Stockley, Head of Blockchain, IBM UK & Ireland

Moderated by David Henig, Director of the UK Trade Policy Project, European Centre for International Political Economy

 

13:30

Lunch
China and the future of the Global Economy

8:30

Registration & Coffee/Tea

8:50

Group Photo

9:00

Welcoming Remarks
 

  • Daogen Zhang, President of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
  • Lisa Sun, CEO, AIG China

Moderator: Yihai Li, Secretary General, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

9:15

Keynote Speeches:
 

  • Guangshao Tu, Former President China Investment Corporation; Former Deputy Mayor of Shanghai

Moderator: Daogen Zhang, President, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

9:30

Keynote Speech: China’s Economic Development and the Changing Patterns of Global Trade
 

  • Mingqi Xu, President of Shanghai Institute for European Study

 

9:45

Panel Discussion

  • Geng Xiao, Professor of Practice in Finance, Peking University HSBC Business School replacing Zhang Jianxi
  • Teresa Lin, Program Director of China CFO Council, The Conference Board
  • Tim Summers, Senior Consulting Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House

Moderator: Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute

10:40

Refreshment Break

11:00

Keynote Speech: What are the Next Steps for the Belt and Road Initiative?
 

  • Wenling Chen, Chief Economist, China Centre for International Economic Exchanges

11:15

Panel Discussion

  • Chen Yu, Vice Chairman, Shanghai Council for the Promotion of International Trade replacing Xiao Geng
  • Andrew Cainey, Associate Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
  • Mukhtar Hussain, General Manager & Regional Head of Belt & Road Initiative – Asia Pacific, HSBC
  • Jeffrey Pan, Vice President, AIG China replacing Doris Yu

Moderator: Sharon Yuan, Managing Partner, The Asia Group

12:15

Lunch

13:30

Keynote Speech: How can non-traditional security risks on the Belt & Road be managed more effectively?
 

  • Jian Yang, Vice President, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

 

13:45

Panel Discussion

  • Raffaello Pantucci, Director of International Security Studies, The Royal United Services Institute
  • Ettore Bompard, Professor at Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino (Polytechnic University of Turin), Italy
  • Mingjiang Li, Associate Professor at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • Jian Wang, Director, Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
  • Jonathan Gregory, Head of Crisis Solution Insurance, AIG

Moderator: Alessandro Arduino, Co-Director Security and Crisis Management International Center, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

 

15:40

Closing reflections on the Global Trade Series: Washington DC,  Rotterdam, Shanghai

  • Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute
  • Jennifer Hillman, Professor from Practice, Georgetown Law
  • Alessandro Arduino, Co-Director Security and Crisis Management International Center, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Moderator: Rhodri Williams, Head of International Public Policy, AIG

16:00

Meeting End