Trade Challenges Seminar
This was one of the most successful online engagements I’ve been a part of.
Assoc. Professor Tourism, Susan Houge Mackenzie, University of Otago
It was fantastic to attend @NZAspen Trade Challenges Seminar. Wonderful to be in a virtual room with so many different schools of thought discussing NZ’s trade future.
Siobhan Raisbeck, Graduate of the Victoria Master of International Trade Program
TRADE CHALLENGES, our fourth seminar in the Future Challenges: Systems thinking and Values based Leadership series was held online on 15, 16 & 17 June 2021.
Trade is absolutely critical to New Zealand, and businesses and governments around the world. The international trading system is facing unprecedented global systems shock with the Covid-19 pandemic, and it may never return to its prior norms. Some practices of trade are changing radically with exponential technologies like e-commerce, blockchain, and machine learning. Navigating the many types of recovery will require a deep understanding of risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs.
Over three days participants were guided through a readings based dialogue by moderators expert in systems thinking, trade logistics, negotiations and foreign policy:
Neil Jacobstein - Chair AI & Robotics Singularity University, MediaX Distinguished Scholar Stanford University, Aspen Crown Fellow, Director Aspen Institute NZ, 6 years on the US National Academy of Sciences Division of Earth and Life Studies Committee, and decades of systems consulting.
Charles Finny - Partner Saunders Unsworth, Director NZTE, former government official having served in Singapore, Beijing and Taipei, specialising in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations. Charles current focus is keeping supply chains open in the face of a range of challenges: Covid-19 closures, global shipping shortages, immigration policy changes, shifts in consumer preference and protectionism.
Prof. Robert Patman - one of the University of Otago’s inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chairs and Professor of International Relations, formerly served as an editor for International Studies Perspectives and Head of Department of Politics.
Day 1: Trade Values and Systems Dynamics - What are the values based tradeoffs inherent in trade considerations? How can system dynamics clarify our thinking about trade logistics, economics, and values? What is the interplay of trade with climate change, migration of skills and acceleration of e-commerce technology? Where to intervene in complex systems for maximum leverage?
Day 2: The Science of Trade - What are the actual elements of trade? Who benefits and who loses from different types of trade? Specifically, how can trade be made to benefit more workers who are often last in line to receive the benefits of the trade that they enable. What is the nature and impact of the WTO on China, and New Zealand?
Day 3: Trade Policy Tradeoffs - What is New Zealand’s evolving response to Asia-Pacific trade and changing economic conditions? What are the key aspects of the NZ China Free Trade Agreement and its many consequences? What are the risks and opportunities for New Zealand's future trade policies?