The first digitally-enabled dialogue on the future of the rules-based multilateral trade regime ended on March 1, 2019.
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Business Organisation, has been operating the platform since November last.
The digital platform titled ‘Global Dialogue on Trade’ allows corporates and think tanks, supported by multilateral institutions, to pursue the ongoing debate on world trade reform.
There were three topics for the debate at the platform. These were: (a) Flexible multilateralism and role for plurilaterals and other negotiating tools; (b) Dealing with trade distorting practices; and (c) Taking account of the growing importance of e-commerce to global trade.
Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General of the ICC, launched the Global Dialogue on Trade at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Bali, Indonesia on 10 October, 2018.
“Following the debates on the platform, recommendations for reform will channel into the on-going intergovernmental processes and will be made publicly available on the platform at: www.globaldialogueontrade.org,” says a statement made by the ICC.
