The Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA) and International Trade of the University of Adelaide (IIT) commends and shares the course of action delineated in the Statement on COVID-19 by APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade issued in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 05 May 2020.

Lisa McAuley, CEO of the GTPA said “in these challenging times, international leadership and cooperation are not only crucial but also a manifestation of the significance of economic integration regional projects like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).”

“In particular, GTPA would like to highlight APEC’s recognition of the importance of “strengthening regional connectivity by intensifying our efforts to make global supply chains more resilient and less vulnerable to shocks, to advance sustainable economic growth”, as well as of working in coordination with the private sector and academia to address that and other pressing issues for the regions’ present and future economy” said Ms McAuley.

Recognising that the global pandemic has brought about “unprecedented economic disruption, new challenges to the movement of goods and services, and an urgent need for business transformation”, Professor Peter Draper highlighted the need for the global community to “leverage our collective expertise and experience, in pursuit of new working solutions with the potential to strengthen trade, create more resilient businesses, and support long-term sustainable economic growth”.

GTPA, in partnership with the Institute for International Trade of the University of Adelaide (IIT), the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) at North Carolina State University, and the Bloomberg New Economy Solutions initiative, is currently working on a comprehensive project on building resilience and integrity in global value chains (GVCs), covering both multinational corporations (MNCs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

We stand ready to collaborate with our knowledge and expertise with APEC’s efforts towards building more resilient and less vulnerable regional supply chains to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth.