Bilaterale frihandelsaftaler (mellem to nationer) er i vækst. Men hvad betyder de for WTO (Verdenshandelsorganisatonen) og u-landene. Vil de blive sat ud på sidelinjen? Disse og mange andre spørgsmål behandles på en konference onsdag i København.
I den handelspolitiske konference deltager bl.a. handels- og udviklingsminister Mogens Jensen (S) og EU’s handelskommissær Karel de Gucht. Det foregår onsdag d. 19. februar kl. 14-18 i Eigtveds Pakhus på Asiatisk Plads 2 på Christianshavn.
Arrangører er udenrigsministeriet og Europa-Kommissionens kontor i København.
Tilmelding skal ske på e-mail to [email protected] med angivelse af navn, titel, institution og kontaktoplysninger. Der er gratis adgang.
Konferencen foregår på engelsk, hvorfor den videre omtale foreligger på dette sprog:
Trade policy conference – Managing the new trade policy agenda
Ambitious bilateral free trade agreements have a strong growth potential. But where do bilateral free trade agreements leave the WTO and the developing countries. These and many other questions will be addressed at the conference in Copenhagen.
In May 2013, the Danish Government issued a new Trade Policy Strategy with a detailed strategy for its multilateral and bilateral trade policy as well as trade policy assistance to Danish companies.
The bilateral free trade agenda of the EU features prominently in the new strategy. This agenda has recently been taken to a new level with the EU’s launch of free trade negotiations with the US and Japan. These negotiations have the potential to substantially boost growth and jobs.
However, the intensified focus on the bilateral track raises a number of questions that deserve close scrutiny (granskning).
* How do we ensure the continued strength of the WTO in the future global trade architecture?
* Where does the strong push for bilateral free trade negotiations leave the developing countries?
* How do we best use trade policy to combat climate change or to promote corporate social responsibility?
* And how do we ensure that companies are provided with the necessary information to reap the full benefits of the bilateral free trade agreements?
These and other questions will be addressed at this conference, which will also follow up on the results of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Bali in December 2013.
VENUE: Eigtveds Pakhus, Room III, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Copenhagen, 19th February 2014.
Se om NGOernes reaktion på at handel og udvikling for første gang lægges sammen under en enkelt minister i telegrammet http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/04-02-14/sammenkobling-af-handel-og-udvikling-f-r-ngoer-i-t
Se også U-landsnyt.dks portræt af Mogens Jensen (S) ved hans tiltræden som minister for området tidligere på måneden i telegrammet
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/03-02-14/en-ny-minister-der-kom-som-en-stor-stor-overraskel
PROGRAMME:
From 13.00:
Sandwich lunch and registration outside Room III, Eigtveds Pakhus.
14.00-14.10:
Welcome by Michael Ehrenreich, Director for the Danish Foreign Policy Society.
14.10-14.30:
Opening statement by Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Mogens Jensen.
14.30-15.00:
WTO Deputy Director General, David Shark: The future of the multilateral trading system (followed by Q&A).
15.00-15.30:
Senior Trade Representative at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, Elena Bryan: EU-US trade relations and the TTIP (followed by Q&A).
15.30-16.00:
Coffee break
16.00-16.30:
Chief Executive Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, ICTSD: Promoting green trade liberalization (followed by Q&A).
16.30-17.00:
CEO NN: A business perspective on the current trade policy agenda.
17.00-17.40:
EU Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht: The European Commission perspective on global trade policy (followed by Q&A).
17.40-17.55:
Summing up by moderator Michael Ehrenreich and end of conference.
