Is the World Finished with Free Trade?

Is the World Finished with Free Trade? - Hosted by the AIIA Queensland

Join us either in-person or online for a live webinar with former federal minister Dr. Craig Emerson who will discuss how rising superpower rivalry is clouding the outlook for free trade.

If you are attending in-person, please arrive at Holding Redlich at 5.30pm for registration and drinks. This event will be available online. After registering, on June 27 you will receive a follow-up confirmation email containing further details on how to join the webinar which will commence at 6pm AEST. The event is free for AIIA Queensland members and AIIA members from all states. Non-members pay $10 and student non-members $5.

If you arrive after 6pm, the lifts may not be accessible. Ring 0403 777 541 for assistance.

Geopolitical tensions including US-China rivalry are causing large economies to turn inwards, some flagrantly flouting WTO rules. And the Appellate Body at the WTO is inoperable, owing to US vetoes over the appointment of new judges. The predecessor to the WTO - the GATT - was established after World War II to help prevent further major wars. The idea was to encourage the integration of economies, achieving mutual gains from trade, so that they had no reason to invade each other.

Now we are witnessing a decoupling between the economies of China and the US in particular. Can and should this be reversed, or are we heading to a world on high trade barriers and potential conflict?