Leveraging the Full Potential of Plurilateral Initiatives in the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Event Type
Interactive discussion

Location / Date
Online, 23.11.2021

German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Trade and Investment Research Network (TIRN) and TIRN steering committee organizations

Inclusive plurilaterals are important to revitalize multilateral trade cooperation at the WTO. Yet they are largely pursued by advanced economies and developing countries often do not participate in them. In a recent Think20 Policy Brief the steering committee members of the Trade and Investment Research Network (TIRN) propose that enhancing plurilaterals could be achieved by:

1.  Focusing on developing countries’ needs and capacities using the Trade Facilitation Agreement model to address implementation challenges
2.  Conducting negotiations in an inclusive and transparent manner to avoid negative effects and establish trust
3. Clarifying the legal options for incorporating plurilaterals into the WTO
4. Increasing coordination between different plurilateral tracks
5. Conducting impact assessments and evaluations
6. Making greater use of online or hybrid negotiations to ease capacity constraints.

They foresee an expanded role for the WTO Secretariat in this, and also argue that the G20 should enhance substantive discussions on plurilaterals facilitated by a sub-committee under the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group.

This webinar serves to launch the Policy Brief to a global audience in advance of the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference. The format will be a moderated presentation and ensuing interactive discussion involving a selected group of experts. The webinar is open for a wider range of participants.

Participants

• Catherine Grant-Makokera, (Moderator), Tutwa Consulting Group (South Africa), and Senior Visiting Lecturer, Institute for International Trade, the University of Adelaide
• Professor Peter Draper,(Presenter), Executive Director, Institute for International Trade, the University of Adelaide
• Anabel Gonzalez, (Discussant), Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization (WTO)

Hinweis

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