T20: Global Trade Reform Roundtable

The Asian Bureau of Economic Research, The Australian National University (ABER) co-hosted with the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan (RIETI) and Institute for International Trade, The University of Adelaide (IIT) the Think 20 (T20) Task Force on Trade, Investment and Globalisation in Canberra at the end of Feburary. This roundtable took place in Canberra and was one of the first think tanks of the Japanese G20 presidency, particpants discussed and examined global trade reform priorities and the role of the G20.  Japan takes on the G20 presidency at a crucial time for the global trading system with trade tensions among major economies and protectionism on the rise. The opportunity for WTO reform was opened up in the G20 leaders declaration in Argentina in 2018. The round table is timed to feed into the thinking in the T20 and G20 processes as well as a series of Asian track 2 processes. The roundtable was held under Chatham House Rule and was by invitation only. See our co-host RIETI’s summary of the event here.