As part of its launch, the Chilean Institute of International Trade (ICHCI) organized a discussion on Thursday, October 28 entitled ““Challenges and prospects of the Multilateral Trading System”.
The virtual event brought together authorities from international organizations and experts to analyze the system of clear rules that was designed to ensure non-discrimination, transparency, predictability and fair trade conduct among countries, and to progressively limit the power of its Member States. The exchange took place within an international context characterized by protectionism, the Covid-19 pandemic and global challenges such as migration and the environment, in addition to the disbelief in institutions.
La Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization, Anabel González, was the first to point out the characteristics of the multilateral system as one of the most outstanding expressions for the strengthening of institutions, in times of crisis. “ANow the issue of promoting good regulatory governance becomes more important”, he said. He indicated that “Two plurilateral agreements are being negotiated: the first (attended by Ambassador Mathias Francke) is related to investment facilitation, the objective of which is to establish a series of parameters so that governments can promote transparency and respond to investors in a reasonable time. The second plurilateral agreement is the domestic regulations in the field of services, which aim to establish certain conditions so that the procedures associated with certifications for the provision of a service are carried out in a transparent manner within a reasonable time.
Then, Ricardo Treviño, Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, señaló que "Institutions can be strengthened through tangible results. Before the pandemic, multilateralism was strongly questioned due to protectionist tendencies. However, a coordinated response has been able to get us through the health crisis.”. Referring to the environmental challenge, he raised the possibility of creating a “Green Authorized Economic Operator that includes endangered species”. He also stated that ““The WCO Green Customs programme could help the circular economy.”
Former Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Mario Matus Baeza, was the third participant. He stressed that “Economic growth is not possible without trade. Hence the institutions that emerged after the Second World War (GATT and WTO) are fundamental.”. Without the WTO, the world would be more fragmented and more vulnerable to shocks. He stressed: ““Global problems require international coordination.”
Trade facilitation measures
The discussion allowed to address aspects related to how to sustain effective trade facilitation measures over time. In this regard, the Deputy Director-General of the WTO noted that "The pandemic has shown that trade can be facilitated and is a source of resilience”. In order to ensure that medical supplies and food are exchanged across borders, he listed the adoption of green channels, electronic documents, special procedures for authorized economic operators, among other measures.
El Deputy Secretary of the WCO described the various actions taken by the World Customs Organization and its members to facilitate and secure the cross-border movement of medicines, vaccines, related supplies and equipment, including vaccine manufacturing inputs and components, in implementation of the WCO Council Resolution of December 2020 on the Role of Customs in facilitating the cross-border movement of critical medicines and vaccines, and in accordance with the WCO COVID-19 Action Plan. He also mentioned that the WCO maintains close collaborative relations with economic operators and the private sector, in particular through the Private Sector Advisory Group, which helps to define and identify bottlenecks.
New growth drivers in Latin America
One of the relevant concepts of the discussion was the reflection on how to help Latin America achieve new drivers of growth.
“It is essential to provide data and analysis so that countries can better take advantage of the opportunities offered by trade in the field of Digitalisation, the decarbonisation economy and the inclusion of SMEs", said Anabel González.
"International trade must be made more inclusive through e-commerce", Ricardo Treviño agreed. He pointed out that digital technologies are transforming the way goods are marketed, supplied and consumed. In this regard, he indicated that “E-commerce is a challenge for customs, which needs advance information to inspect and manage risk. It also requires fine-tuning capabilities so that this business model can reach international trade.”
Finally, Mario Matus suggested “translate international trade to SMEs (…), research to eliminate myths or barriers that are not noticed (…) and promote physical integration in the South American region”. Finally, he rescued the idea of moving forward in some way international regulation that facilitates the use of technology.
The event was coordinated by Fabián Villarroel, President of ICHCI, and its Vice President, Rodrigo González, and included the participation of Paola Feliú, Deputy Secretary of the same academic institution that deals with various issues of international trade.
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