Concept Note & Agenda

Concept Note

Rising trade tensions have been considered a major downside risk with negative impacts on growth through reduced confidence, subdued investment, and global supply chain disruptions. In addition, parts of society that feel disadvantaged by international trade rules are driving a backlash against multilateral trade rules in some significant countries. Technological progress, in a scale never seen before, has interacted with trade to fuel the spread of innovation, information and know-how, fueling intense transformations in the forms and depth of integration among economies. While new opportunities have emerged, including for developing countries, so have new risks for labor markets and social protection systems. This Roundtable discussed what implications these developments have on the future of the multilateral, rules-based trading system, and whether these tensions will be fleeting or a “new normal. The discussion also covered trends affecting G-24 countries and how the Bretton Woods Institutions could support a robust multilateral trade system, as well as developing country efforts to harness trade for growth and development.