The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented disruption to the global economy and world trade, as production and consumption of goods and services have scaled back across the globe. At the same time, the WTO and international trade have proven more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, because commerce enabled the delivery of food, medicines, masks and vaccines. The Conference aims to take stock on the challenges posed by the pandemic on international trade and reflect on the solutions discussed and developed to help countries and businesses collaborating and coordinating their actions to mitigate trade and global supply chain disruptions on essential goods and services, to strengthen resilience and "Build Back Better".
The conference will bring together international practitioners, government representatives, academics, businesses, and others to explore emerging ideas and the most recent developments, at a critical time for international trade law. It will consist of four panels addressing COVID-19 and trade related topics, such as health technologies, services, food security and environment. We are pleased to announce that H.E. Ambassador Simon Manley, CMG, UK Mission to the WTO will deliver the keynote address.