Global trade in transition: fragmentation, disruption and emerging opportunities
Global trade is entering an era of more uncertainty and fragmentation. Rising trade policy activity, tariffs and geopolitical tensions are reshaping supply chains and testing the resilience of the global trading system.
Marc Auboin, chief of the trade and macro-finance unit at the World Trade Organization, joins OMFIF to examine the outlook for global trade amid mounting policy uncertainty and shifting economic dynamics.
The discussion explores current trade forecasts, the impact of fragmentation on trade flows and supply chains, and the resilience of global commerce despite ongoing geopolitical and economic shocks. He also considers emerging drivers of growth, including artificial intelligence, green goods and services trade.
Speakers
Marc Auboin
Chief, Trade and Macro-finance Unit
World Trade Organization
Marc Auboin
Chief, Trade and Macro-finance Unit
World Trade Organization
Marc Auboin is the Chief, Trade and Macro-finance Unit of the WTO, responsible for work on trade, finance, and macro issues, and for WTO relations with the IMF and World Bank. Previously, Marc held several positions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was Deputy-Secretary of the Monetary Committee of the European Union, and worked for the French Treasury. He holds a Ph.D in Economics.
Mark Sobel
Vice Chair and Chief Economist
OMFIF
Mark Sobel
Vice Chair and Chief Economist
OMFIF
Mark Sobel is Chief Economist and Vice Chair at OMFIF. Mark is a veteran US Treasury official, who was at the forefront of international financial diplomacy for two decades.
Mark, who represented the US on the International Monetary Fund executive board up to April 2018, has had a 40-year Treasury career with extensive around-the-world engagement.
He works with OMFIF in dealings with private and public sector organisations, speak regularly on international and US policy, and provide OMFIF members with insight and analysis.
Mark was Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for international monetary and financial policy between 2000 and early 2015. He helped lead Treasury preparations for G7 and G20 finance minister and central bank governor meetings, formulated US positions at the IMF, and coordinated Treasury and regulatory agencies’ work in the Financial Stability Board.
Mark founded the US/EU Financial Market Regulatory Dialogue and chaired an international group of private and official sovereign debt experts that developed enhanced collective action clauses for sovereign debt restructuring. He managed the $100bn-plus Treasury Exchange Stabilization Fund and played a key role in US foreign exchange policy including coordinating the Treasury’s semi-annual foreign exchange report on China and other countries.