The Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT) – an initiative by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) – organized a webinar on the theme, ‘Resetting Multilateral and Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Trade,’ which shared insights on how to improve international cooperation and reset the trade regime to facilitate economic recovery from COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.

Held on 12 January, the webinar brought together Simon Evenett and Richard Baldwin, co-editors of an e-book titled, ‘Revitalising Multilateralism: Pragmatic Ideas for the New WTO Director General,’ and other experts to discuss practical suggestions for a World Trade Organization (WTO) work programme, supported by cooperation at the multilateral level to solve global crises such as COVID-19 and climate change.

Mia Mikic, ARTNeT Coordinator and Director, Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, ESCAP, moderated the discussion.

By way of introduction, Mikic noted several recent developments that have implications for the multilateral trading system (MTS), including the change of the US administration, the UK reassuming its independent trade policy, the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), and the forthcoming appointment of a new WTO Director-General.

Simon Evenett, Professor, St. Gallen University, Founder, Global Trade Alert, and ARTNeT advisor, said the e-book puts “WTO travails” in the current socioeconomic context, asks new questions such as how to improve the WTO’s ability to manage crises, and identifies pragmatic solutions and ways forward. He highlighted the need to build confidence in the WTO in the short term by, inter alia, developing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on trade in medical products, avoiding vaccine nationalism, and taking forward joint initiatives. Evenett noted lack of alignment among countries on the role of the Organization in the next ten years.

Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva, recognized that “fixing the MTS means getting the US back in the game.” Outlining a “fragile, complex window of opportunity” for the Biden administration, he noted that liberalization of trade “is not even remotely possible,” anticipated no new free trade agreements (FTAs), and envisioned a trade track in the US’ foreign policy.

Katrin Kuhlmann, President and Founder, New Markets Lab, and Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, highlighted synergies between multilateral and regional approaches. Noting divergences in regional trade agreements (RTAs), she said they all have things to learn from, for example with respect to transparency, notification of new or changes to existing rules, accountability, cooperation, and increasing participation. Kuhlmann suggested regional cooperation on trade in essential goods, trade facilitation, digital trade and digital inclusion, and gender, among other issues, could provide a good model to build multilateralism on.

Ujal Bhatia, Former Indian Ambassador to the WTO and Member of the WTO Appellate Body, said the 2001 declaration on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and public health could inform an MoU on trade in medical products. He said addressing global challenges through “narrow nationalism and dog-eat-dog policies” is counterproductive, and stressed the need for political will to enable institutions, rules, and technologies to function seamlessly to operationalize global cooperation.

Alexandra Renison, Head of EU and Trade Policy, Institute of Directors, offered a business perspective from the UK. She said while the UK has distanced itself from regional priorities, the government needs to be seen as a broker facilitating trade for business. Renison warned that the UK’s “benevolent” approach to trade lacks impact for business, and said trade agreements need to be business-relevant.

In ensuing discussion, participants exchanged ideas on how to revive the WTO balancing between “different systems that try to coexist.” Evenett underscored the need to “manage different types of capitalism,” and forecast more trade tensions in the absence of serious steps to unwind subsidy buildup.

Baldwin and Bhatia argued the US and China need to resolve their differences on industrial subsidies outside the WTO. Renison noted a separation between politics, and trade and economics in the UK’s approach to China.

On reviving cooperation to deal with the pandemic, Renison urged “thinking locally” to better respond to COVID-19 while ensuring that such thinking does not become a barrier to trade. Bhatia cautioned against imposing a single standard for integration. Kuhlmann identified the possibility of finding a common approach.

Baldwin hoped for cooperation within the WTO, including on vaccines, but recognized that outside the WTO, “cooperation happens faster.” Evenett contrasted binding rules-based approaches to trade with seeing trade as part of the solution to sustainable development problems.

Bhatia called for cooperation on climate change within and outside of the WTO. Kuhlmann suggested “using this time of reset to reassess how sustainable development can be addressed through trade.” [ARTNeT Website] [Webinar Webpage] [Webinar Flyer] [ESCAP February 2021 Newsletter] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]