Global trade conference 2027

Leading trade economists set the scene for the major trends and challenges emerging within the global trade landscape in 2027.  Key questions and areas for discussion include:

• Has trade fragmentation hit a plateau?
• Can global cooperation survive growing geopolitical rivalry?
• How can the WTO adapt to growing pressures and the need for reform?
• How can governments balance economic security, competitiveness, and sustainability within this challenging landscape?  
• What are the emerging risks for 2027 and beyond? 

• How can trade policy support the UK’s growth and innovation, and boost competitiveness and productivity at home?
• How can the UK use its G20 presidency to shape global trade governance?
• Where can the UK genuinely exert influence in global trade and investment policy?
• What are the biggest opportunities and challenges presented by the UK-EU reset?
• What should be the UK’s priorities in a world where economic security increasingly butts up against the principles of free and fair trade?

• How is the demand for critical minerals in technology re-shaping alliances and trade partnerships, especially in rare-earth elements?
• How do stakeholders overcome the uncertainty around future mineral utilisation in emerging technologies and address short-term supply shortfalls?
• What lessons can policymakers learn about managing strategic dependencies from the experience of how semiconductor proliferation has taken place over the last decade?
• What forms of global cooperation are needed to prevent critical minerals becoming a recurring source of geopolitical tension?
• How will critical minerals and technologies shape the development of emerging economies?

This session is being held under the Chatham House Rule.

• How will China respond to the growing global concerns about its trade surpluses?
• How might the country use the power of its ‘chokeholds’ on critical sectors of the global 
  economy to further its international agenda?
• How important is China’s exchange rate policy in shaping China’s competitiveness, and could currency policy changes address global trade imbalances?
• Could a more integrated CPTPP and ASEAN landscape affect China’s influence in the Asia Pacific?  
• What can we learn from China’s ability to compete at the frontier of AI and new technologies?

• Is there hope for the establishment of a permanent alliance of market-oriented economies – a ‘third pole’ in the global economy?  
• What is the potential for the EU-CPTPP dialogue on trade and investment?     
• Are regional trade agreements defensive mechanisms and stabilisers, or becoming the 
  building blocks of a new trade architecture? 
• What is the potential impact of BRICS expansion on shaping a redistribution of economic 
  powers and influence? 
• Which countries are best positioned to lead an emerging trade coalition?

• How have data centres become such a crucial element of strategic national architecture and how will this develop further over the next decade?
• Who controls the infrastructure underpinning AI development, and what are the implications for global power?
• How should government balance openness with concerns about technological sovereignty?
• Which countries are best placed to benefit from the economic gains of AI?
• How will AI and new technologies transform global value chains and patterns of international investment?

This session is being held under the Chatham House Rule.

• How do geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation affect countries’ ability to cooperate on shared water resources?
• What does ‘resilience’ mean for supply chains exposed to water risk –and resilience for whom?
• How can trade be a mechanism for better water stewardship, rather than relocating or exacerbating problems?
• How are investors integrating water risk into their decision-making, and how can this build more resilient supply chains?  
• What examples are there of water risk being priced, or otherwise factored, into trade or investment decisions today?

This session is being held under the Chatham House Rule.

• In a post-Trump Presidency world, what will be the lasting impact of sanctions, tariffs and industrial policies on the global trade environment that the US finds itself situated in?
• What do ongoing USMCA renegotiations tell us about the future of North America economic integration?
• How much influence do domestic political pressures now have on US trade and industrial policy developments?
• How are businesses and institutions adapting to increasing uncertainty around US foreign policy and trade policy?
• Can the US stock market address its growing reliance on emerging technologies and build an economy more resilient and less prone to shocks? 

• What are the long-term implications of instability in the Strait of Hormuz and other major trade routes?
• How is infrastructure diplomacy reshaping geopolitical influence?
• What are governments and businesses doing to adapt to maritime risks and growing insecurity?
• Could Arctic shipping routes become economically viable and geopolitically significant?
• How might key markets, such as insurance, respond in the face of these threats and what does it say about future business confidence in a more geopolitically unstable environment?

• How is the EU balancing openness and competitiveness with growing pressure to protect strategic industries?  
• Are measures such as tariffs on green vehicles and clean tech from China hindering the path to net zero?
• To what extent do current policies towards China remain compatible with WTO rule?  
• How will local European elections and changing domestic priorities impact EU trade priorities?
• What would a successful European trade strategy look like by 2030?