Competition Policy RPN - Shifting the Trade Paradigm

On Monday, 22 July 2024, 5:00 - 6:00 PM (CEST) - 4:00 - 5:00 PM (BST) - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET), the CEPR Competition Policy RPN organised a Webinar on

Shifting the Trade Paradigm: Can we do Better for Global Citizens (and Democracy)?

A conversation between United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Simon Johnson, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Global Economics and Management, MIT and CEPR Fellow

The vision that trade policy had to embed antitrust values and workers’ rights was fundamental to the post-War Bretton Woods regime, and the effort to preserve Europe on the path to democracy.  That link has been lost in time, as trade policy became reflective of the neoliberal consensus around the benefits of hyperglobalization. This paradigm is now fundamentally under challenge as post-neoliberal concerns around inequality, unfairness and disenfranchisement of citizens and workers have come to the fore. Trade rules are undergoing a major rethink – away from WTO neoliberal value and the interests of large corporations that shaped the rules to their benefit (from pharma to digital) - favouring more economic opportunities for people “left behind” in advanced economies and developed economies alike. As described by Letta and Draghi, Europe itself is at a crossroads, with much to do to fill the productivity and growth gap – how will it position itself in this rethink?
 
This conversation, moderated by Cristina Caffarra (University College London), between United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Prof.Simon Johnson, MIT and CEPR Fellow (former IMF Chief Economist, co-author of Power and Progress), explained the shift, why we should care about competition values (and workers’ rights) being threaded through trade, what this means in practice, and how this can better support growth objectives and new economic opportunities  (as well as democratic values) – not just for the North, but also for the Global South.