The Global Economy, the 2030 Agenda, and Prospects for Trade

A backlash against economic globalisation has swept through many economies in the two years since trade ministers met in Nairobi, Kenya. The losses and gains, real or perceived, from trade have been actively debated. Simultaneously, governments have universally endorsed the 2030 Agenda, a blueprint to achieve inclusion and sustainability at the national level and in the global economy. What can trade policy now do to boost confidence in a system that works for all? Where can trade policy help to deliver growth and jobs of the future amid a rapidly changing technology landscape?

The E15 Initiative (E15) opening plenary session aimed to move beyond the debate on the merits and demerits of economic globalisation to focus on where trade policy, and particularly the WTO agenda, can deliver for sustainable development. This plenary session was moderated by Shawn Donnan, Editor at the Financial Times, and assessed the prospects for the future of the global economy and trade growth, in terms of major trade policy changes that can contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This evaluation took into account the role of major economies in safeguarding and improving trade governance to serve a more inclusive, balanced, and sustainable development course.

The plenary set the stage for the targeted discussion to take place in the E15 track at the TSDS focused both on the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11), as well as the functioning of the WTO and potential deliverables in the long-term.

The biennial Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium (TSDS), held alongside the WTO ministerial conference for over a decade, is the leading multi-stakeholder platform for intellectual enquiry and dialogue on sustainable development and the global trade and investment system. The TSDS – organised by ICTSD in partnership with the Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), the Inter–American Development Bank (BID), Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) and Bolsa de Cereales with the support and collaboration of the Ministerio de Producción, Presidencia de la Nación, Argentina – acts as an inclusive platform outside of the WTO negotiating setting for sharing ideas, engaging in dialogue, and influencing trade policy negotiations. Drawing in participants from government, business and civil society, the Symposium helps to maintain and elaborate a global vision of sustainable development in trade and investment policymaking.