World Trade Forum
Trade, Development and Sustainability
28 - 29 September 2018
Jointly organised by the European University Institute and the World Trade Institute
The multilateral trading system is under stress. Unilateral trade restricting actions by the US and retaliatory responses are one major sources of tension. Another is the refusal by the US to agree to new appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, threatening the ability of WTO members to settle trade disputes. In May 2018 President Macron called for major trading powers to reflect on desirable WTO reforms. Underlying many trade tensions are national policies motivated by economic development
objectives. How to reconcile the need for governments to be able to pursue development goals with possible adverse effects on trading partners has long been a key challenge for the global trade regime.
Another key challenge is to ensure trade is sustainable. The 2018 World Trade Forum brings together leading trade practitioners and scholars, government officials, and representatives of international and nongovernmental organizations. Sessions will address the state of play in the WTO and global trade policy trends, external trade strategies of the EU, China and the United States, links between international integration and sustainable trade, measurement of sustainability and recent trade policy research. Every year, a book related to the World Trade Forum is published with Cambridge University Press. For 2018, the book project is managed by Cosimo Beverelli (EUI and WTO), Jürgen Kurtz (EUI) and Damian Raess (WTI).