World Trade Symposium 2019

Trade and manufacturing policy of the US in the light of trade war.

Is “slowbalisation” inevitable? This session will identify the most important opportunities and risks for global trade. How much scope is there for geopolitical tensions to chill trade? And how is industry harnessing technology to drive innovation and collaboration in finance and investment? How will the key trade trends for 2020 and beyond affect lives around the world?

To what extent have President Donald Trump’s trade policies affected trade flows? How permanent will their effects be? How are companies and governments adapting to find fresh opportunities in the new landscape?

After years of expectations that China’s markets are opening up, relations between the world’s second-biggest economy and the West have taken a new turn, with some countries adopting a tougher stance. Where will Sino-foreign relationships go from here? Are the recent tensions a blip, or do they herald a new, more combative era? How can companies and service-providers navigate this new landscape to deliver for clients, regardless of geopolitical changes? How will China’s latest iteration of its Belt and Road Initiative impact global trade?

Open platforms and digital islands: how and where is technology closing the gap between physical and financial supply chains? How are new technologies along the trade value chain—such as digital trade finance, open APIs, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and distributed ledgers—improving efficiencies and driving change? What problems is technology struggling to solve, where are the barriers to adoption, and what is being done to address them?

Changing societal attitudes, growing concerns about climate change, and the rise of socially conscious investing have focused a spotlight on sustainability in trade. What examples are there of genuine progress in trade practices? How can the trade ecosystem drive greater inclusivity and equality, make trade fairer, and even save our planet? Where are the biggest gaps that need to be closed, and are we acting fast enough?

This interactive session offers our audience the opportunity to challenge our panellists about global trade. Each member of our panel of provocateurs will give a brief overview of a global trade scenario for 2030, and the audience will be asked to vote on the likelihood of these scenarios and offer their own perspectives.

New technologies are transforming the end-to-end trade lifecycle, from production to finance and logistics. What digital technologies are having the greatest impact, and how will they continue to be adopted? When will we see a universal trade network? How are banking platforms harnessing new trade technologies, and how ready are corporates, logistics-providers and governments to capitalise on the opportunity?

Attendees will join roundtables for structured discussions on:

• New models for trade risk distribution: technologies changing risk distribution in trade
• Solving the interoperability issue in new trade distributed-ledger technology networks
• Digitisation in action: providers highlight different digitisation solutions

Is there still a development path through trade and global values in light of trade policy uncertainty and new technologies? Although trade bounced back after the global financial crisis of 2008, the high growth rates of the 1990s and 2000s have remained elusive. There are many reasons for this shift, but one is that trade reform has languished and in some cases is even being reversed. There is also a potential threat from new technologies, like automation and 3D printing, that could replace trade with domestic production. Going forward, what policies are most important for countries to pursue trade and growth? How can countries cooperate more closely in traditional areas, like tariffs and subsidies? Does cooperation need to move into new areas like e-commerce and data protection?

The attendees will exchange their perspectives on the biggest hurdles facing companies when implementing effective data policies. How does the global regulatory landscape impact businesses operating across regions? Topics for discussion will include:

• Digital standards – new standards for trade finance
• Universal interoperability – how to prevent new digital islands as new networks emerge
• Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals into corporate trade policy

Our speakers will discuss the progress the region has had with trade integration between different countries.

How is technology tackling the challenge of establishing trade provenance in complex supply chains, and how will this reassure consumers about the sustainability of the products? How can public- and private-sector stakeholders collaborate to stamp out illegal trade practices and combat the risk of malicious actors using new technologies for ill? What are some case studies of success in fighting illicit trade?

Global trade faces a number of challenges – in this session attendees will debate the details, share their expertise and have their say on the key topics of the day. The audience will divide into roundtables and develop collaborative ideas and proposals. Work with peers on your current table, or move onto a table which is debating your preferred topic.

Two debaters battle to win over the audience. The rise of protectionism and economic nationalism in recent years has thrown a spanner in the works of the globalist, free-market project. Is the dream of frictionless global trade dead? The audience will be polled before and after the debate to see how opinions change.

This dynamic closing session will showcase a range of decision-makers and influential voices as they debate how to navigate an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical environment. What are the key solutions that attendees can take back to their businesses? Is chaos the new normal?