AI is transforming global trade by deepening the integration of services — including data analytics, logistics, and digital platforms — into goods production and cross-border commerce. Across sectors like semiconductors and critical minerals, AI-enabled tools are streamlining customs, compliance, and supply chain management, improving efficiency and reducing trade friction. These developments also hold promise for broadening participation in global trade, potentially lowering barriers. The panel will examine how WTO members may approach the evolution of services trade frameworks in a manner that supports innovation while maintaining transparency, predictability, and access — particularly for SMEs, women, youth and developing economies.
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Richard Brown, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the WTO; Former Facilitator, WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the WTO
Johanna Hill, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization
Anna Jerzewska, Founder & Director, Trade and Borders
Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat
Moderator: Kristin Najdi, Senior Director of Trade Policy, Information Technology Industry Council
WITA will also host the International Trade Reception in Geneva, Switzerland. This prestigious event will connect trade professionals from the WITA community with their international peers attending the 2026 WTO Public Forum.