A special session on “Discover Business Opportunities Through CACCI,” that featured special presentations by selected CACCI member chambers or other invited regional business organizations on business conditions and opportunities in their respective countries or regions. The Session was moderated by George Abraham, Chairman and Managing Director, The GA Group Pte. Ltd. The invited presenters were: Scott […]
A special session on “Discover Business Opportunities Through CACCI,” that featured special presentations by selected CACCI member chambers or other invited regional business organizations on business conditions and opportunities in their respective countries or regions. The Session was moderated by George Abraham, Chairman and Managing Director, The GA Group Pte. Ltd.
The invited presenters were:
Scott Venkeer, Chief Executive of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce representing the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
James Shi Chu, Secretary General of Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC)
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)
Maria Monica Conde Barragan, Vice President of International Affairs at the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representing the Pacific Alliance.
At the end of the Conference, CACCI, through the Outgoing CACCI President Mr. Samir Modi, issued a statement on the world trading system, as follows:
CACCI said that ambitious global coordinated action is needed now to tackle the world’s problems, noting that international trade accounts for over 30 percent of global GDP, yet it is beset with rising barriers to commercial exchange, multiple agendas being pursued, the resort to trade sanctions for political outcomes, and supply chain uncertainty.
CACCI stressed that the time has come for a new Bretton Woods type compact to reset the way sovereign nation states can cooperate for mutual benefit, explaining that since the original Bretton Woods agreement was established the multilateral system, especially the WTO, has been eroded under the weight of mission creep, lack of compliance with international rules (some of which are contradictory), and an inability to deal with new issues in a new digital age.
CACCI observed that an open, non-discriminatory, rules-based multilateral system would do wonders for the world economy, adding that while plenty of leaders and policymakers will readily mouth these words, rarely do they drill down into what their implementation means and why they are so important.
Reform of the world trading system would improve supply chain resilience, lift productivity easing inflationary pressure, ease debt burdens and increase prosperity providing the resources to address other social and environmental goals like education and climate change. “That is why root-and-branch reform in a new Bretton Woods style agreement is needed as top priority”, CACCI said, adding that “Piecemeal tinkering and tweaking current arrangements will not do what is required given the dimension of the world’s problems”.
CACCI concluded that trade is simply commerce across borders and chambers of commerce know what is required to enhance the buying and selling of goods and services, after all, they live and breathe commerce every day. It is time governments listened to those ideas because a better world with higher living standards would be the result.