Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 12 • Number 38 • 12th November 2008
Events
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Coming up: 13 November – 19 November
13 November, Washington DC, USA. REFLECTIONS AND PROJECTIONS: A TRADE TRANSITION MEMO FOR THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. US Undersecretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla will offer observations on trends for his successors as decision-makers of US trade policy at this event sponsored by the Washington International Trade Association. Some specific topics likely to be covered: What role should/could/will China and India play in the global trading system? How can bipartisan consensus on trade policy be rebuilt? What should the US do about Doha Round at the WTO? How big and how real is the threat of an Asian economic architecture that excludes the US? What is the connection of trade, investment, and immigration policy? How can we all speak more effectively about trade? Click here for further information.
13 November, Geneva, Switzeland. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD, FOURTY-FIFTH EXECUTIVE SESSION (FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT). 2008. The principal purpose of the session will be to allow member States to discuss the implications of the current financial crisis for development and for financing for development from the perspective of UNCTAD’s areas of competence – trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development – and to relay the views expressed to those engaged in the preparatory process for the follow-up conference and to the conference itself. For further information, please click here.
13 November, London, UK. GLOBAL FUTURES: THE CHATHAM HOUSE ANNUAL CONFERENCE. Global Futures:The Chatham House Annual Conference 2008 will ask whether the most recent wave of globalization - the growing interdependence of societies and economies through the opening of markets and borders - has reached a turning point, marked by the crisis in financial markets and an increase in protectionist rhetoric.The arrival of a new US administration in Washington, new questions about globalization in the EU, the continuing rise of China and India, combined with financial instability in the West, and increased competition for resources globally, make this a significant moment to review the likely future course of this third wave of globalization of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. For further information, please click here.
15 November, Washington DC, USA. G20 SPECIAL SUMMIT ON THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.
Major disruptions to financial institutions and markets in developed countries have spread to emerging economies. Its repercussions are being felt by people in real economies around the world which are facing recession and the rapid loss of hard-won economic gains over the last decade. The crisis we are seeing today will impact all countries, developed and developing, but its most serious repercussions will be felt most by those who are least responsible — the poor in developing countries. The market and regulatory failures that have led to this crisis must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Therefore a G-20 summit-level meeting will convene on 15 November to respond to this crisis. We need a meaningful, comprehensive and well-coordinated reform of the international financial system. We must respond now to prevent today’s crisis becoming tomorrow’s disaster. It will take proactive leadership among multilateral institutions to ensure coordinated and comprehensive response on trade, development, employment, finance, humanitarian assistance, the environment and the protection of global goods and norms to help build a fair and sustainable globalization. For further information, please click here.
15 – 17 November, Strausbourg, France. EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT DAYS 2008. European Development Days 2008 is the European Commission’s major event. Each year the EDD hosts some 3000 participants from every continent, representing over 1200 organisations in the development community. Everyone has a say at the European Development Days: administrations, parliaments, local authorities, civil society, international organisations, academics, development agencies, the private sector and the media. It is an open forum that brings together the whole development family. By breaking down walls between different issues, the European Development Days serve as a natural platform for debating the major issues of development cooperation and launching new initiatives. For further information, please click here.
16 – 18 November, New Delhi, India. INDIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT. With energy and commodity prices directly linked to global supply and demand, record setting prices present multiple challenges to India’s future domestic growth. Moreover, a strengthening rupee and forthcoming national elections are also setting the stage for a range of new issues that will reshape the country’s agenda going forward. It is in this context that the 24th India Economic Summit will have as its principal theme, “Securing India’s Future Growth”. The programme is designed to generate insight and to improve the alignment of India’s development and industry priorities and as such is organized on four thematic pillars: Global Shifts; Managing Risks; Inclusive Growth; and Future Competitiveness. For further information, please click here.
17 – 21 November, Sao Paolo, Brazil. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIOFUELS: BIOFUELS AS A DRIVING FORCE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. he Conference should encourage international discussion about the challenges and opportunities presented by biofuels and provide important occasion for addressing issues related to biofuels, such as energetic security, sustainable production and use, agriculture and industrial processing, as well as issues connected with technical specifications and standards, international trade, climate change, and biofuels’ future. The event will be structured into two parts: “Plenary Sessions,” which will be open to the public, scheduled for November 17-19; and “High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting,” scheduled for November 20-21 (Organization and Operation). For further information, please click here.
17 – 21 November, Takayama, Japan. 7TH GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. The conference will bring together development practitioners, community leaders, policy innovators, government, the private sector, and world-class facilitators. Participants will explore our most pressing human development challenges - from poverty to disease to ecological sustainability - and identify new solutions and design new approaches to resolving them. For more information, please click here.
18 November, London, UK. LORD ROLL MEMORIAL LECUTRE: THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CENTRAL BANKS AND THE PUBLIC-THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION. The last decade has seen a dramatic shift in the relationship between central banks, notably the ECB, and the public. Regular updates on monetary policy decisions and transparent reporting of inflation targets have replaced the secrecy of the past. The speaker, Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, will argue that a return to less effective ECB communication would risk higher, more volatile levels of long-term interest rates and potentially threaten the economy as a whole. For further information, please click here.
18 – 19 November, Paris, France. INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN A GLOBALISED WORLD – JOINT OECD – WORLD BANK CONFERENCE. Innovation is crucial to long-term economic growth. Making innovation-driven growth happen requires action on a wide range of policy areas, from education and science and technology to product and labour markets and trade. OECD and the World Bank are joining forces to work more closely on innovation, particularly insofar as this issue is a crucial factor in the success of development policy, notably in middle income market economies. For further information, please click here.
19 November, London, UK. THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. In the midst of continuing uncertainty regarding the resolution of the financial crisis and the impact on the economic outlook for 2009, this roundtable seminar will present the latest IMF forecasts and examine evidence from previous episodes of financial stress. What should we expect in terms of economic consequences and what are the possible remedies and paths to recovery? This will provide a timely opportunity for leading experts from UK, US and Europe to share their views on the global outlook in the face of significant financial stress - and to discuss the possible ways forward. For further information, please refer to: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/976/
19 November, Brussels, Belgium. SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTUREING SUMMIT EUROPE – CUTTING EMISSIONS FROM DESIGN, OPERATIONS, SUPPLIERS AND CONSUMPTION.
The Sustainable Manufacturing Summit Europe will bring together top global manufacturers to discuss carbon reduction and climate impact strategies. With sessions focusing climate-friendly product development, operational response, sustainable supply chains, and waste management, the will summit will cover carbon reduction at every stage of the manufacturing process. For more information, please refer to: http://www.sdgateway.net/events/default.asp?EventID=5598, or contact: info@greenpowerconferences.com
WTO Events
An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted here. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, and are open to WTO Members and accredited observers only.
17 NOVEMBER: COMMITTEE ON BUDGET, FINANCE, AND ADMINISTRATION
17 NOVEMBER: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY MEETING
18 NOVEMBER: COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
Other Upcoming Events
20 November, London, UK. AFRICAN AGRICULTURE SERIES: AN AFRICAN GREEN REVOLUTION? In this inaugural meeting of the African Agriculture Series, the speakers will discuss the role of agriculture in Africa today. Across the continent, agricultural output per person has fallen 15% over the past 40 years. Most experts agree the lessons of Asia’s 20th-century ‘green revolution’ are applicable to much of Africa. The meeting will draw together experts in agricultural development to discuss the possibility and nature of a ‘green revolution’ in the continent. For further information, please refer to: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/961/
20 November, Washington DC, USA. TRADE REMEDIES: WHAT IS CHANGING, AND HOW? A series of events have aligned that have the potential to significantly change the trade remedy (antidumping, countervailing duties, & safeguards) landscape in the United States. The rulings against “zeroing” at the WTO have been loud and clear. In 2009, the US will need to eliminate zeroing or face retaliation against US exports. But the Administration has been reluctant to abide by these rulings. What needs to happen, and when? Domestically, a Democratic administration and Congress will likely forge new direction in many areas of trade policy. What will this mean for remedies and enforcement actions? And last, the Supreme Court has taken a case on antidumping law for the first time in memory; what will be the fallout of the Eurodif ruling? For further information, please click here or email events@wita.org.
20 November, Sao Paolo, Brazil. EXPO BRAZOL 2008 – INTERNATIONAL MULTI-SECTOR TRADE EXIBITION. The Expo Brazil ‘ 08 -International Trade Exhibition to be held in November 2008 is all set to present over 10,000 products, equipment and machinery from over 28 countries. Trade visitors from all over South & North American countries are being invited directly and in collaboration with several regional trade bodies in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia & other North American Countries. For further information, please click here.
20 – 21 November, Capetown, South Africa. BIOFUELS MARKETS AFRICA – THE PAN-AFRICAN MEETING PLACE FOR THE BIOFUELS INDUSTRY. The approval of the Biofuel Industrial Strategy for South Africa in December provides fresh impetus to the Biofuels market in South Africa, providing a foundation and road map to push the market forward. For further information, please refer to: http://www.sdgateway.net/events/default.asp?EventID=5600, or contact: info@greenpowerconferences.com
20 – 22 November, Lille, France. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TWENT YEARS ON: NEW THEORETICAL INTERPRETATIONS, METHODOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, AND FIELDS OF FURTHER EXPLORATION. The issue of sustainable development has grown over the last twenty years. Indeed, it is the age we can give if we consider as a starting point the Brundtland report, presented by the UN in 1987. Since then, the problem creating intragenerational and intergenerational equity, and generally understood as seeking to reconcile social equity, economic efficiency and environmental conservation, has been the subject of many, especially the relevant theories proposed by various organizations. For further information, please click here.
24 – 26 November, Geneva, Switzerland. INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON MINING, MINERALS, METALS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. The Intergovernmental Forum is the institutional framework for the Global Dialogue on Mining/Metals and Sustainable Development, and is a voluntary initiative by national governments with an interest in mining to work collectively to advance priorities identified for the sector in the Johannesburg Plan of Action.The Forum is the only global policy forum for the mining/metals sector with the overarching objective to enhance capacity for the overall governance in the sector. The major goals of the Forum are to: enhance and promote the contribution of the mining, minerals and metals sector to sustainable development; provide governments with a framework in which to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the sector. For further information, please click here.
25 November, London, UK. CAPITALISM UNDER ATTACK. John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, will use this opportunity to share his thoughts on the turmoil in the financial markets. For further information, please refer to: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/979/
25 November, Brussels, Belgium. DOUBLE WHAMMING FOR ENERGY FINANCING: ENERGY PRICES AND CREDIT AVAILIBILITY. As part of the Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable, a seminar with Jan Stuart, Global Oil Economist at UBS Securities LLC and Harry Tchilinguirian, Senior Oil Market Analyst at BNP Paribas, London. For further information, please click here or contact Martine Breux at breux@ifri.org.
25 November, Aarhus, Denmark. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM. In the era of accelerated globalization, the issue of pursuing a national development strategy becomes of relevance not least to low income countries. The issue raises a large number of questions, such as: Considering economic, political and also environmental global constraints, is a national strategy at all feasible in the 21st century? If it is feasible, can less developed countries learn something from success economies such as the Korean one? What kinds of institutions underpin a successful development strategy? Is there such a thing as a blue-print model of “a developmental state”? Should a catch up strategy for the least developed countries be aiming towards new and more environmentally friendly strategies and is that feasible? Is there a difference between strategies for initial take off, and strategies for catching up? The seminar will address these questions through inputs for discussion from four prominent scholars in the field, and hereafter, through a common panel discussion. For more information, please click here.
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