Brussels Forum Continues with Talks on Trade, Security, Refugees, and Humanitarian Intervention
Trade was at the top of the agenda on the second day of GMF’s Brussels Forum. Against the backdrop of a rapidly developing story of potential U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the day’s first conversation featured Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade, and Robert Zoellick, chairman of West Alliance and former World Bank president.
Despite concerns that potential tariffs on steel and aluminum could drive a wedge between Europe and the United States, Malmström highlighted common ground on the issue of overproduction in the steel sector. Tying trade to the conference theme of trust, Malmström said, “We want to increase the possibilities for us to trade, for our people to meet to harness and shape globalization. To make sure that we get proper jobs, that we get fair trade, sustainable trade, and also because of the title of this meeting is today, how can we regain trust?”
Zoellick in turn pointed out that trade surpluses are not a panacea. “The United States wants a trade surplus now,” said Zoellick. “We had a trade surplus during the great depression. We also had 25 percent unemployment.”
Beyond trade, the day explored the forces changing our world. Centrica CEO Iain Conn described the rapid transformations technological advancement has brought to the energy sector. “The energy system is changing, and that change is accelerating. It's not static, and there's more than one technological revolution coming together at the same time,” said Conn. “It's happening in response to technology development because of climate change. Power is shifting to the customer, because they have more choice, and digitization is accelerating the whole thing.”
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also spoke on an entirely different force shaping the world: the refugee crisis. Secretary Albright pointed out the connections between the refugee crisis and other global challenges, saying “Most people don’t want to leave the home where they were born, where they speak the language and have their family. The people who are leaving Africa are being pushed out because of desertification,” said Albright. “We need to recognize the earth is not flat and there is a scientific basis to climate change. I think we need to have short-, medium-, and long-term action plans, because this is the new normal.”
The day’s most spirited conversation came in the form of an Oxford Style debate on the motion "Humanitarian Intervention Does More Harm than Good." Arguing for the motion were Frank Ledwidge, senior fellow at the Royal Air Force College and Dr. Rajan Menon, senior research scholar at Columbia University. Arguing against the motion were Dr. Kori Schake, deputy director general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Doctors Without Borders and former French foreign minister. The debate, hosted in partnership with Intelligence Squared U.S., explored many facets of humanitarian and military intervention. While both sides won audience members to their position, as recorded through the conference voting app BFconnect, the team arguing against the motion won a greater proportion of the audience to their side and prevailed.
Other notable speakers on Friday included members of the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament, CEO of The World Bank Kristalina Georgieva, and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison. Laura Rosenberger and Jamie Fly, of GMF’s Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), presented Hamilton 68’s methodology, the dashboard that tracks Russian disinformation. The conference will conclude Saturday with sessions featuring Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, a discussion on resolving the North Korean threat, and a conversation with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.
Trade was at the top of the agenda on the second day of GMF’s Brussels Forum. Against the backdrop of a rapidly developing story of potential U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the day’s first conversation featured Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade, and Robert Zoellick, chairman of West Alliance and former World Bank president.
Despite concerns that potential tariffs on steel and aluminum could drive a wedge between Europe and the United States, Malmström highlighted common ground on the issue of overproduction in the steel sector. Tying trade to the conference theme of trust, Malmström said, “We want to increase the possibilities for us to trade, for our people to meet to harness and shape globalization. To make sure that we get proper jobs, that we get fair trade, sustainable trade, and also because of the title of this meeting is today, how can we regain trust?”
Zoellick in turn pointed out that trade surpluses are not a panacea. “The United States wants a trade surplus now,” said Zoellick. “We had a trade surplus during the great depression. We also had 25 percent unemployment.”
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PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION
Andrew Kolb, [email protected], +1 202 683 2613
Kelsey Glover, [email protected], +1 202 384 0656
GMF's Brussels Forum is an annual high-level meeting of the most influential U.S., European, and global political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges currently facing both sides of the Atlantic. With 53 countries represented and more than 800 attendees, the 12th annual GMF's Brussels Forum includes senior officials from European Union institutions and the member states, U.S. government officials and Congressional representatives, parliamentarians, academics, and media.
GMF is proud to be joined by our founding partners, Daimler and the Federal Authorities of Belgium, as well as our strategic partner, Deloitte. We are pleased to welcome Boeing, BP, Brussels Capital Region, Centrica, Microsoft, and the OCP Policy Center as forum partners. We would also like to recognize our associate partners: AARP, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, NATO, and the Wilfried Martens Centre, and our GMF's Brussels Forum Breakout Dinner partners — Elnet, Solvay, and Strategeast. In addition, we want to acknowledge the support of our GMF's Brussels Forum Young Professionals Summit partners — Silver Parker Group and the United States Mission to the European Union. Intelligence Squared U.S. is the official Oxford-Style Debate partner and POLITICO is the official digital media partner for GMF’s Brussels Forum. Lastly, we thank King Baudoin Foundation as a leading Belgian Institution for their support.