RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM — GENEVA, 11-12 MARCH 2013

ADBI/CTEI Conference “The Future of the World Trading System: Asian perspectives”

Organised by Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and Centre for Trade and Economic Integration (CTEI) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva in collaboration with World Trade Organization.

 

 

Background and goals

The objective of this Conference on The Future of the World Trading System: Asian Perspectives is to actively promote a broad and comprehensive examination of the key changes in the multilateral trading system from the perspectives of Asia — the region where trade has played a key role in shaping economic development and people's livelihoods over the past decades as well as the region expected to account over half of world GDP by 2050.

The conference will be in English only.

Programme

Day 1: Monday 11 March 2013

9:30-10:00

Registration and coffee
  

10:00-10:20

Opening remarks

  • Masahiro Kawai, Dean and CEO, ADBI
  • Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics and Co-Director, CTEI,  Graduate Institute, Geneva
     

10:20-10:40

Keynote address

  • Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization
    > Speech 
    > Audio

10:45-12:45

SESSION 1: PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN EAST ASIA

  • Moderator: Mr Tomochika Uyama, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the WTO

Supply Chains: Drivers of Change

  • Presenter: Patrick Low, Chief Economist, WTO
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Guillermo Valles, Director, Division of International Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities, UNCTAD

Trade in Value-Added: East Asian Perspective

  • Presenter: Satoshi Inomata, Director, International Input-Output Analysis Research Group, Institute of Developing Economies-JETRO
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Yuqing Xing, Director of Capacity Building and Training Programs, ADBI
    > Presentation

Engaging Small and Medium Enterprises in Production Networks: Firm-level Analysis of Five ASEAN Economies

  • Presenter: Ganeshan Wignaraja, Director of Research, ADBI
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Friedrich von Kirchbach, Director, Division of Country Programs, International Trade Centre

Open Floor Discussion

  

12:45-14:00

LUNCH   

14:00-16:00

SESSION 2: REFORM OF THE WTO

  • Moderator: H.E. Ambassador Stuart Harbinson*, Former Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China, to the WTO

WTO 2:0: Global Trade Governance for 21st Century Trade

  • Presenter: Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics and Co-Director, CTEI,  Graduate Institute, Geneva
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: H.E. Mr Luzius Wasescha, Former Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the WTO

The Relevance of WTO Rules in the 21st Century

  • Presenter: Biswajit Dhar, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries
  • Commentator: Theresa Carpenter, Executive Director, CTEI, Graduate Institute

Plurilateral Agreements: Are They a Viable Alternative to the WTO?

  • Presenter: Michitaka Nakatomi, Special Advisor, JETRO
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Gabrielle Marceau, Counsellor, Legal Affairs Division, WTO

Open Floor Discussion

  

16:00-16:30 BREAK
16:30-18:30

SESSION 3: FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS

  • Moderator: H.E. Mr. CHOI Seokyoung, Permanent Representative of Korea to the WTO

Asian FTAs: Trends, Prospects and Challenges

  • Presenter: Masahiro Kawai, Dean and CEO, ADBI and  Ganeshan Wignaraja, Director of Research, ADBI
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Cédric Dupont, Professor of International Relations/Political Science, Graduate Institute

The ASEAN Economic Community: Progress, Challenges and Prospects

  • Presenter: Chia Siow Yue, Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of  International Affairs
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Maika Oshikawa, Head, Asia and Pacific Desk, Institute for Training and Technical Co-operation, WTO
    > Presentation

Multilateralization of FTAs: An Asian Perspective

  • Presenter: Shujiro Urata, Professor of Economics, Waseda University
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Rohini Acharya, Counsellor, RTA Section, Trade Policies Review Division, WTO
    > Presentation

Open Floor Discussion

  

18:30-19:30 RECEPTION

19:30 ONWARDS

DINNER

  

Day 2: Tuesday 12 March 2013

9:00-10:45

SESSION 4: COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL POLICIES

  • Moderator: Harsha V. Singh, Deputy Director-General, WTO

Crisis-Era Protectionism: Form, Facts, and Fiction

  • Presenter: Simon Evenett, Professor of International Trade and Economic  Development, University of St. Gallen
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: H.E. Mr. Fook Seng Kwok, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the WTO

Trade, Investment and the WTO

  • Presenter: Zhang Yunling, Director of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese  Academy of Social Sciences
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director-General, WTO

Open Floor Discussion

  

10:45-11:00 BREAK
11:00-12:30

Evolution of Industrial Policy and Green Growth

  • Presenter: Sanghoon Ahn, Managing Director, Korea Development Institute
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Aaron Cosbey, Associate and Senior Climate Change and Trade Advisor, IISD

Exchange Rate Policy and RTAs

  • Presenter: Richard Pomfret, Professor of Economics, University of Adelaide and Victor Pontines, Research Fellow, ADBI
    > Presentation

  • Commentator: Claus D. Zimmermann, Associate, Sidley Austin
    > Presentation

Open Floor Discussion

  

12:30-13:00

NEXT STEPS & CLOSING

  • Masahiro Kawai, Dean and CEO, ADBI
  • Ganeshan Wignaraja, Director of Research, ADBI
  • Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics and Co-Director, CTEI,  Graduate Institute, Geneva
  • Patrick Low, Chief Economist, WTO

 

Organisers and sponsors

  • Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
  • Centre for Trade and Economic Integration (CTEI) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • World Trade Organization