Young Diplomats of Canada: Resilient Trade Beyond COVID-19 (World Trade Organization 2021)

The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization with 164 member states, dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO’s primary objective is to facilitate rules-based and predictable trade flows. It accomplishes this by settling trade disputes, acting as a forum for trade negotiations, and by building the trade capacity of developing economies. The annual Public Forum is the WTO’s largest annual outreach event, giving a platform to thousands of NGOs, businesses, academia, the media, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society to discuss issues facing the multilateral trading system.

The trading system faces serious challenges to its ability to provide a stable, functioning framework for trade negotiations, dispute settlement, and rules-based trade. This episode features some insights from the leading minds in international trade about the issues facing the trading system today. The interview clips used in this podcast come from meetings with stakeholders and WTO Public Forum sessions.

Guests:

Ambassador Stephen de Boer - Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Global Affairs Canada

Gabrielle Marceau - Economics Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization

John Hannaford - Deputy Minister of International Trade, Global Affairs Canada

Sara Wilshaw - Chief Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada

His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa - President of the Republic of South Africa

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - Director-General, World Trade Organization

Dr. Radhika Desai - Professor of Political Economy, University of Manitoba

Diane Gray - President and CEO of CentrePort Canada

Dr. Olu Fasan - Visiting Fellow & Guest Lecturer, International Relations Department of the London School of Economics

Produced By:

Lindsay Bain - Delegate, WTO Public Forum 2021

Ashton Connor Mathias - Delegate, WTO Public Forum 2021

Faria Amin - Executive Producer, Beyond the Headlines