Leading trade experts from practice, academia, administration, NGOs, international organizations and the private sector attended the first-ever digital World Trade Forum in September 2020. At the very start of the conference, it was noted that the multilateral trading system still faces enormous challenges. In light of that, one of the Forum’s objectives was to take up these challenges and discuss some possible solutions.
Effective trade policy
The importance of trade agreements was stressed as well as how “non-trade policy objectives” – including civil rights, security, economic and social rights as well as environmental protection – can be promoted. Significant work is needed in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region in order to build up capacities to include non-trade objectives such as labor and environmental provisions in trade agreements.
Relations between the Great Powers difficult
Other panels addressed issues related to the trade relations between China, the EU and the US as well as the ongoing global debate about sustainability. In the discussion on climate policy, it was shown how value chains can be made more sustainable through something called voluntary sustainability standards (VSS). These standards are a widely used tool for managing various aspects of global value chains. They guarantee that products purchased do not hurt the environment or the people that make them.
