Brokering Consensus on Trade within the Multilateral Trading System
Established in 2016 in Geneva, the Friends of Multilateralism Group (FMG) is a group of independent experts firmly committed to promoting multilateralism and shared growth within the multilateral trading system (MTS).
FMG endeavors to buttress efforts by Members, both delegations and capital officials, on WTO reform and other issues of importance to the MTS and help them restore the centrality of the WTO for the governance of trade and investment. FMG will strive to provide high-quality, independent and expert advice through a series of activities and products, including researches, debates, consultations and policy advice, to help build a positive eco-system to inform and support potential compromises and landing zones for the sustainability of the multilateral trading system.
The WTO faces short-term threats and long-term challenges. Both need to be effectively addressed with effective reforms inspired in a shared long-term strategy. Therefore, the focus of FMG will be WTO reform under discussion by members, addressing both short-term threats and long-term challenges through analysis, dialogue and action-oriented proposals.
Depending on the development of the system and demands of members, FMG can also take upon new tasks beyond WTO reform. Based on this rationale, the FMG will focus on the following set of subjects (a "living" list):
Global Trade Governance
Best practices for better transparency and deliberation of the WTO
Multilateral structure and plurilateral initiatives
Dispute settlement, in particular potential landing zones for both a quick resurrection of the appellate body and long-term challenges
Empowerment of the Secretariat to better its informing and facilitative role
Engagement of civil society on WTO reform
Leadership Role of Major Players
Trade tension among major players and its impact on the multilateral trading system
Rebalancing of rights and obligations
Integration of Developing Countries
Particularly the LDCs among them, into the global trading system
Free and Fair Trade
Fisheries subsidies
Subsidies, state intervention and distortions
Regulatory coherence and global supply chains
21st Century Issues:
E-commerce, including the plurilateral negotiations
Investment facilitation
Gender equality and women empowerment
Redefinition of traditional subjects in the new context, such as labor and environment standards, trans-border data flows, rules of origin for online services or goods, etc.
In-depth research and pertinent policy advice
FMG will use its own expertise and draw on external expertise to produce policy-papers and proposals, as needed. Drafts will be reviewed and discussed among FMG members to cover all possible angles and promote a collegial view on the subject matter.
Open debates and discussions
FMG will convene all stakeholders, including governments, private sector and civil society, to discuss its policy-papers and proposals.
Targeted follow-up communication and consultations
FMG may also host small group or individual consultations with key members, including officials from capitals, to allow for candid exchange of views and test potential landing zones.
Follow-up conclusions and further advice on landing zones
Finally, FMG researchers will fully review the results of above engagement to further improve the research and policy advice, in particularly on potential compromises and landing zones.
FMG is co-organized by Alejandro JARA and Xiankun LU. Its members include Richard BALDWIN, Daniel CROSBY, Simon EVENETT, Stuart HARBINSON, Bernard HOEKMAN, Anabel GONZALEZ, Alejandro JARA, Patrick LOW, Xiankun LU, Hamid MAMDOUH, Hector TORRES, Guillermo VALLES. FMG engages extensively external independent experts, as need be.
Alejandro JARA
Co-Organizer of FMG
Email: alejandrojara49@gmail.com
Former Deputy Director-General of WTO and former Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Chile to the WTO
Xiankun LU
Email: xiankunlu@163.com
Former Head of Division of Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and Emeritus Professor of University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China
Richard BALDWIN
Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland
Peter DRAPER
Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide, Australia
Anabel GONZALEZ
Non-resident Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics, former Minister of Trade of Costa Rica, former World Bank Senior Director on Trade & Competitiveness and former WTO Agriculture Director
Former Chief Economist of WTO
Evan ROGERSON
Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and co-ordinator of the Singapore Trade Policy Forum.
Guillermo VALLES
Ambassador-at-large of Uruguay, former Director of International Trade in Goods, Services and Commodities Division of UNCTAD, former Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Uruguay to the WTO
Clemens BOONEKAMP
Clemens Boonekamp is now a consultant on trade policy and related matters.
Simon EVENETT
Professor and Academic Director of the MBA programmes at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Stuart HARBINSON
Former Chief Representative of HK China to the WTO, former Chief of Staff of the WTO
Hamid MAMDOUH
Former Director of Trade in Services and Investment Division of the WTO
Former Executive Director at the IMF and former counsellor at the WTO Appellate Body's Secretariat and the Economic Research and Statistics Division.
Daniel CROSBY
Office Managing Partner of King & Spalding LLP Geneva
Bernard HOEKMAN
Professor and Robert Schuman Chair and Director of the Global Economics programme at the European University Institute of Florence, Italy
Sergio MARCHI
Sergio Marchi has led a distinguished private and public sector career.
Thu-Lang TRAN WASESCHA
Thu-Lang Tran Wasescha is currently IP (Intellectual Property) Consultant. She is a graduate from the Law School of Geneva University.
Some representatives of related international organizations are also invited in their personal capacity, as "Friends of FMG" (FFMG), to enrich the discussions and bridge effective message-passing with such organizations. It is underlined that Members of Friends of FMG are participating in their personal capacities and their views or opinions do not represent the organizations that they are associated with.
Crispin CONROY
Representative Director of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Geneva and the Permanent Observer/Ambassador to the United Nations
WEF, Head of International Trade and Investment System Initiative, Member of the Executive Committee
Pamela Rosemarie Coke Hamilton
UNCTAD, Director. Division on International Trade and Commodities
Jos VERBEEK
WB, Manager and Special Representative to the UN and the WTO in Geneva
Matthew Anthony Wilson
ITC, Chief Adviser and Chef de Cabinet to the Executive Director