## How Global Trade Can Promote Growth for All

_IMF News, October 10, 2018_

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**Canonical URL:** [How Global Trade Can Promote Growth for All](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/10/09/sp101018-md-trade-conference-opening-remarks)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: October 10, 2018

---

### Context and occasion
- Trade Conference Opening Remarks—Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director
- IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Bali, Indonesia
- October 10, 2018
- As prepared for delivery

### Framing: trade as bond of union and source of discord
- Quotation used to frame talk: “Commerce, which ought naturally to be among nations, as among individuals, a bond of union and friendship, has become the most fertile source of discord and animosity.” (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations)
- Central charge: today’s generation of policymakers will be measured by their ability to create “a trade system that works for all.”

### Three priorities (policy recommendations)
- First: De-escalate current trade disputes and enter into constructive discussion.
  - Use momentum from recent discussions and proposals to strengthen the WTO, and from new trade deals such as TPP-11, the African agreement, and progress on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal, to “turn tension into rapprochement.”
- Second: Fix and modernize the global trade system, not destroy it.
  - Address distortionary effects of state subsidies.
  - Improve enforcement of intellectual property rights.
  - Take steps to ensure effective competition to avoid excesses of market-dominant positions.
  - Unlock the full potential of e-commerce and other tradeable services.
  - Use more flexible negotiating approaches within the WTO, including “plurilateral” agreements among subsets of the WTO membership that are ready to move ahead in certain areas.
- Third: Implement domestic policies so global trade delivers for “all people.”
  - Scale up investment in training and social safety nets so workers can upgrade skills, transition to higher-quality jobs, and earn more.

### Rationale and evidence cited
- Trade’s benefits:
  - Boosts productivity.
  - Spreads new technologies.
  - Makes products more affordable.
  - In Asia, trade has been instrumental in creating the world’s largest middle-classes.
  - Economic integration has boosted per capita incomes while creating millions of new jobs with higher wages.
- Acknowledged costs:
  - Some workers and some communities are “heavily affected by the human cost of disruption—whether from technology, or trade, or a combination of both.”

### IMF role and contributions
- The IMF supports members through analysis and policy advice, including:
  - The most recent World Economic Outlook (as of speech).
  - A new study jointly produced by the IMF, WTO, and World Bank: “Reinvigorating Trade and Inclusive Growth.” [2]
  - Annual assessments of individual economies advising on country-specific aspects of trade regimes.
  - Providing a platform for sharing best practices and fresh ideas.
- The conference is presented as an example of the IMF’s role in sharing ideas and fostering cooperation to build a better global trade system.

*Source: IMF speech text, October 10, 2018.*

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## References

- [Christine Lagarde](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/christine-lagarde)
- [Canada and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/CAN/index.htm)
- [Indonesia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/IDN/index.htm)
- [Mexico and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/MEX/index.htm)
- [The IMF and the World Trade Organization -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2022/imf-and-the-world-trade-organization)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/10/09/sp101018-md-trade-conference-opening-remarks_