Jan Tumlir Lecture: The New World of Trade – What is the new shape of world trade – and what does it entail for global trade policy?

Jan Tumlir was for a long-time the ‘resident philosopher’ of the WTO’s predecessor GATT. A Czech émigré and Professor at the UCLA, Tumlir was a towering figure in the post-war discussions about a rules-based international economic order and what was required by politicians to guard trade from protectionism.On the back of the financial crisis and the rise of murky protectionism, Jan Tumlir’s ideas about the global trading system is more relevant than ever.

Pascal Lamy’s efforts at the WTO to protect global trade from crisis-related protectionism, and his uncompromising belief in the need for global institutions like the WTO to propel a better international economic order, makes him an excellent Tumlir Lecturer. At the WTO – and later – Pascal Lamy has propelled the need to adapt thinking about trade and trade policies to new realities of world trade.

Pascal Lamy’s lecture will be followed by comments from Professor Patrick Messerlin and Guy de Jonquières.