La Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Gozi Okonjo-Iweala, said this Monday (21.03.2022/XNUMX/XNUMX) that “the WTO offers a unique forum for global dialogue on supply chain issues," he said at a virtual forum that brought together government officials, heads of major ports, maritime transporters, logistics companies, among others.
In her remarks, the Director-General noted that “during the pandemic, the WTO helped governments and businesses identify bottlenecks and reduce export restrictions affecting the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.”
Okonjo-Iweala explained that “without effective government policies” to sustain demand and help businesses, shippers, port workers and others adapt, “the pandemic could have led to a prolonged collapse in growth and trade.”
“The volume of world merchandise trade has almost quadrupled between 1990 and 2019,” he said. However, “the Current trading systems must adapt to address threats such as pandemics and climate change,” the Director-General told Forum participants.
He also noted that the supply chain crisis has hit smaller companies particularly hard, given their narrower margins and more limited financial resources.
The meeting discussed how the WTO can help strengthen supply chains.o global and how greater collaboration between partners across regions and sectors can make supply chains more efficient. more sustainable and inclusive.
In one of the debates, participants stated that a Broader and deeper investment in digital technology, including blockchain and robotics, is key to reducing global supply chain congestion. And they proposed tools such as market diversification and investment, both public and private.
In this regard, John Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, said that digitalisation “must be addressed” to strengthen global supply chains. He suggested “making some bold reforms in terms of the digital economy.”
“We are still a long way from digitising trade flows, particularly when it comes to trade finance,” added Victoria Claverie, Head of Trade Europe at Standard Chartered.
Meanwhile, other participants stressed that all partners in global supply chains will need to work together to ensure that the decarbonization efforts.
Clemence Cheng, Managing Director for Europe at Hutchison Ports, said the WTO and other international organisations can contribute as a knowledge bank on supply chains to anticipate problems and to foster a greater cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Participants also highlighted trade agreements to facilitate supply chains. Thus, Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of Mexico, stated that the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement has been “key and crucial” in addressing supply chain disruptions, while Gambian Trade Minister Seedy Keita underlined the importance of the new African Continental Trade Area (ACA) in helping boost trade and reduce trade costs in Africa.
Closing the event, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam stressed that “no supply chain can function properly without a global system of predictable and facilitative trade rules, such as those implemented by the WTO. But these rules alone cannot do anything (…). All components of the global trading system, from the private sector to governments, regulators and international organisations, must now play their part in providing a response.”
Regarding these ideas, the Deputy Director General of the WTO, Anabel González, finally asked the world community to actions are coordinated “to equip supply chains to better deal with threats and growing uncertainty.” – (Global Supply Chain Forum Event)
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