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The importance of a stable global trading system

International Trade conference: hear from the UK Ambassador to the WTO and business leaders on the importance of international coordination on trade policy.

16 Oct 2020, 3 min read

In this session, the speakers give their unique insights and perspectives on the economic benefits of trade and the importance of international coordination on trade policy from companies operating in the aviation, pharmaceutical, and technology sectors.

Speakers:

  • Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist, CBI
  • Katherine Bennett CBE, Senior Vice President, Airbus in the UK
  • Julian Braithwaite, UK Ambassador to the WTO
  • Ben Osborn, UK Country Manager, Pfizer
  • Catherine Graham, CFO, Darktrace

Watch the session

Highlights from the session: 

  • Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s Chief Economist, highlights that trade in services is set to grow by almost 50% by the end of the decade, which will account for 30% of global trade. She added that business needs to have a voice at global institutions, with the UK having a special opportunity here – as it’s leading the G7 next year as well as hosting COP26. If the business voice can stay in lockstep with multilateral bodies then we can look to shaping and recovering from this pandemic in ways that benefit everyone.
  • Katherine Bennett, the CEO of Airbus, explains that since April, air revenue per passenger has fallen by 90%, and she’s not expecting aviation to return to pre-COVID levels until 2024/25. International trade is key to the future recovery, and air transport sits right at the heart of this – as it connects businesses, friends, families, and diplomats.
  • Julian Braithwaite, the UK Ambassador to the WTO, thinks that the international trade system has no clear leadership and has been beset with political problems. The WTO has been playing an important role in terms of supply chains and avoiding protectionism during the crisis. The UK is in a unique position to have its own voice at the WTO after Brexit.
  • Ben Osborne, the UK Country Manager at Pfizer, thinks that the pandemic has shown us the clear association between health, healthcare, and the economy, and how quickly the economy can fall to its knees. We’re looking now at both potential vaccines and cures but also how we address the inequalities that exist with COVID-19.
  • Kathy Graham, CFO at Darktrace, thinks that increasingly distributed workforces are probably something that is here to stay – and that has cyber security consequences. The positive side is that we’ve seen organisations show adaptability and resilience when shifting to remote work, but the negative is the threat level going up significantly.