The E15 engages key stakeholders – trade and investment policy makers, business and thought leaders – in policy dialogues in Geneva and around the world to explore and help validate ideas, align interests and strengthen the impetus for change.
Expert Group and Task Force Workshops
First Expert Group Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements
The E15 Expert Group on Regional Trade Agreements and Plurilateral Approaches met for the first time on 20-21 November 2012 to begin Expert Group discussions led by Theme Leader, Kati Suominen (TradeUp Capital Fund). The group was established by ICTSD and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) to explore whether a new substantive and institutional framework for addressing preferential trade agreements by the WTO is necessary and desirable. Questions to be addressed by the group include:
Are the new generation of RTAs responding to the needs of the private sector vis-a-vis the “old style” RTAs?
Are the new generation RTAs more “private sector friendly”?
Are the new generation RTAs compatible with the WTO’s rules?
What are the best practices from RTAs and how they could be applied to multilateral trade?
What is the role of rules of origin in Easter Asian networks of production and how they can be adjusted in this new arrangement?
Is regional integration only for the sake of regional integration in Africa?
How does the new RTAs process can help Africa better participate in global value chains?
How to better design RTAs so they can really help reach their purpose?
Is the private sector really losing interest in the WTO and paying more and more attention to regionalism?
How well are governments and international institutions addressing the question of RTAs – is there scope for improvement?
RTAs: is there a need for clearer rules?
Have we learned about the transaction costs of RTAs?
