CGD Hosts British Trade Director, Other Experts at Private Roundtable

Yesterday, CGD hosted a private roundtable with David Frost, Director for Europe, Trade, and International Affairs at the UK Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS). Participants included representatives from multiple embassies, NGOs, and business organizations.

Frost shared the UK Government’s framework for strengthening trade and investment—articulated in a newly released white paper—and commitment to a multilateral system that promotes open markets and free trade. He responded to questions about the UK Government’s position and there was a lively discussion about U.S. trade policy debates.

Views differed on the potential for progress in 2011 on the Doha Development Round of trade talks, a UK trade policy priority. There was general agreement, however, that a Doha deal would indeed benefit both rich countries and developing countries. The problem lies not in crafting an agreement that benefits all countries, but rather in overcoming public concerns and political obstacles to progress.

In this regard, meeting participants were very interested in a new study, commissioned by the British embassy in Washington, offering a state-by-state analysis of a Doha agreement’s likely impact on the U.S. economy.  The bottom line: each U.S. state would gain jobs and almost all states would see a boost to their Gross State Products (GSP) if the negotiations reach a successful completion.

(CGD’s Kim Elliott, who organized the meeting, analyzes the implications of a successful Doha Round, particularly on agricultural markets and developing countries, in her book, Delivering on Doha: Farm Trade and the Poor.)