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Debating the rules of the global economy

10 March 2008

Disputes over the rules of international trade are here to stay, according to Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Speaking at a Chatham House conference on the new politics of the global economy, he argued that sectors of society which are hit hardest by the effects of globalization will resist policies that expose them further, fuelling political debate within countries over their integration into the global economy.

States will also challenge the rules of international trade over key issues, most notably energy supply. Comparing the current "scramble for Africa" and its energy resources to nineteenth century European colonialism, Lord Malloch-Brown noted that countries and companies are increasingly tempted to break rules - for example on transparency - to gain an advantage accessing resources, with potentially disastrous consequences for the host states. On the issue of climate change, by contrast, a new legal and normative system appears likely to emerge.

Also speaking at the conference, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Kamal Nath argued that no one wants to abolish the rules of the global economy, but that its structural flaws must be corrected. Having designed the framework of international trade as a "one-way street", Western countries and especially the US are now struggling to resist the two-way traffic of today's global economy through non-tariff barriers such as anti-dumping laws, subsidies and the manipulation of trade standards. This protectionism must be addressed if the drivers of future global growth - emerging economies in Africa and Asia - are to remain healthy.

Contact:
Sean Armstrong, Press Officer
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Email: sarmstrong@chathamhouse.org
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