WTO PUBLIC FORUM 2016
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Moderator
Didier Chambovey, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the WTO and Chair of OECD’s Trade Committee
High trade costs are one of the principal reasons why some countries, firms and individuals are unable to participate in international trade. Smaller firms, farms, and start-ups are disproportionately affected. There are several avenues to reducing these unnecessarily high trade costs: the immediate and full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement as well as improving international regulatory cooperation, as regulatory differences have been shown to cause very high trade costs. These costs have a particularly pernicious effect on the development of global value chains and explain at least in part why some countries and regions have been less able to participate and reap the associated benefits. This session will explore which trade costs should be targeted for priority reduction with a view to improving the inclusiveness of trade.
Speakers
- Dorothée Rouzet, Trade Policy Analyst, OECD
- Pat Ivory, Director EU and International Affairs, IBEC, Ireland
- Didier Chambovey, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the WTO and Chair of OECD’s Trade Committee
- Robert Teh, Counsellor, Economic Research, WTO
- Anders Aeroe, Director, Division of Market Development, International Trade Centre (ITC)