In the face of recent crises in geopolitics, public health, and the environment, are people better served by the fragmentation of trading relationships or by a new kind of globalization? The WTO’s World Trade Report 2023 tackles the debate head on, as presented by Chief Economist Ralph Ossa.

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, delivered a thought-provoking Presidential Lecture on "Reinventing the global order" at the WTO in March 2022. In her speech, she explored how the rules-based trading system can be part of the solution to the major problems facing the world today. In her introductory remarks, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had this to say: "She is fearless. She speaks truth to power on issues like climate justice, vaccine inequity, sovereign debt and the unique vulnerabilities facing small economies. She makes Barbados punch above its weight."Presidential Lecture Series with Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados: https://bit.ly/3XG3ZEj

Without rules and referees there would be no game. Each football match is policed by a cwho has full authority to enforce the law of the game. In multilateral trade, we have plenty of rules but no all-powerful referee to supervise them. The ultimate control on trade disputes remains with the WTO members themselves. In this episode of the Trade Goals podcast, Michael Roberts and Antonia Carzaniga look at how football and trade disputes arise and how they are resolved. We talked to:Philippe Senderos, Sporting Director of Servette FC, GenevaSean Cottrell, Founder and CEO of the sports law knowledge hub LawInSportCarol Etter, Swiss Attorney-At-Law specialised in sports law and board member of FC BaselClarisse Morgan, Director of the WTO Rules DivisionValerie Hughes, Senior Counsel with law firm Bennett Jones, former Director of the WTO Legal Affairs and Appellate Body Divisions Show notes A world-famous football referee with a degree in economicsPierluigi Collina (Wikipedia)Peruvian and Chilean Football Associations file appeals with Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)Media release by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 30 September 2022CAS ruling in the matter of the player Byron CastilloMedia release by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 8 November 2022Rules-based trade explained (video)Video "Let's Talk Rules-Based Trade"Learn more about the WTO dispute settlement mechanismThe WTO dispute settlement mechanism explainedUnderstanding the WTO: the agreementsOverview of WTO agreementsLaws of the Game 2021/2022Download link to the Laws of the Game 2021/2022 from the FIFA website

Football video games are popular wherever people have access to the internet. The games are part of the much larger e-sports universe of competitive video gaming. In this episode of the Trade Goals podcast, Michael Roberts and Antonia Carzaniga explore how playing the beautiful game in a virtual format brings together the different strands of trade law dealing with merchandise goods, services, and intellectual property. We talked to:Chester King, Founder and CEO, British Esports Association, Vice President of the Board of the Global Esports FederationBrendan Vickers, Adviser and Head, International Trade Policy, Commonwealth Secretariat, LondonJJ Shaw, Senior Associate at the international law firm Lewis Silkin, London. Special thanks to Melissa, Tamara, Tobias and Tosson and all the others who shared their video game experience with us during the "Futur en Tous Genres" day 2022, when children of staff members visited the WTO to get a better idea of the organization as a workplace. The FIFAe Nations Cup 2022™Brazil crowned world’s best FIFA esports nationGlobal Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022-2026Report by consultants Price Waterhouse Coopers  50 years of gaming history visualized50 Years of Gaming History, by Revenue Stream (visualcapitalist.com)  A short history of gaming (1970-2020)50 Years Of Gaming History, By Revenue Stream (1970-2020) - Phil Davis (thestreet.com)Lear more about the ITA agreement:WTO | Information Technology AgreementArtificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property PolicyWIPO conversation on intellectual property (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI)  

Football fans' love of the game generates plenty of revenue. The major sources of income in football are merchandising, sponsoring and broadcasting rights. All of these rely on intellectual property (IP) rights. In this episode of the Trade Goals podcast, Wolf Meier-Ewert and Jana Borges cast light on how the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, also known as the TRIPS Agreement, enables players, clubs and football associations to monetize their IP through the sale of branded goods and broadcasting deals. We talked to:Loic Luscher, Media & Communications Manager, Servette FC, GenevaAlex Kelham, Commercial and IP lawyer, Head of Sports Business Group at international law firm Lewis Silkin Víctor Umaña, CEO FIFA U20 World Cup Costa Rica. Show notes:View of Geneva from Mont SalèveThe WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS): The TRIPS Agreement explainedWIPO reference guide: Sports and Intellectual PropertyPoster with Servette FC jerseys from 1890 (in French): Shop du Servette FCLewis Silkin sport business homepage: Lewis Silkin - Sports BusinessThe relative financial performance of the highest revenue generating clubs in world football: Deloitte Football Money League 2022

A football game is a service and the clubs that are organizing football matches are providing recreational services. International trade rules may apply when the players on the pitch come from different countries, when a club is foreign-owned, when matches are broadcast internationally or when fans travel abroad to watch their favourite teams play. In this episode of the "Trade Goals" podcast,  Markus Jelitto and Antonia Carzaniga explore how the WTO’s Services Agreement (the GATS) applies to the beautiful game.We talked to:Philippe Senderos, Sporting Director of Servette FC, GenevaRaffaele Poli, Head of the Football Observatory at the International Centre for Sports Studies(CIES) in Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandCarol Etter, a Swiss Attorney-At-Law specialised in sports law. Carol is also a board member of FC BaselJosé Francisco Manssur, a Brazilian lawyer specialized in sports lawFernando Roitman, Founder of CIES Sports Intelligence at the International Centre of Sport Studies (CIES) in Neuchâtel Learn more about the WTO's Services Agreement (GATS):The General Agreement on Trade in Services explainedWTO video about the GATS:"Let's Talk Services Trade"Statistical analysis of the football players’ labour market, the technical analysis of player performance and the scientific estimation of transfer values:The Football ObservatoryFacts and figures about global football:FIFA Professional Football Report 2019Deloitte Football Money League profiles the relative financial performance of the highest revenue generating clubs in world football:Deloitte Football Money League 2022 | Deloitte UK" More about foreign investment in Brazilian football clubs:Football corporations in Brazil (SAF): new perspectives for foreign investment in Brazilian football teams | International Bar Association (ibanet.org)

An incredible amount of work is needed to create a perfect football pitch. A lot of international trade  is involved, too. In this episode of the "Trade Goals" podcast, players rave about fast pitches, tournament organisers praise robust playing surfaces and seed industry representatives explain how international phytosanitary standards facilitate trade in turf. We will also touch upon the gender dimension of playing on the best possible pitch.We talked toPhilippe Senderos, Sporting Director of Servette FC, GenevaPierre-Yves Bovigny, Maître d'enseignement HES, Institute of Landscape, Architecture, Construction and Territory (HEPIA), GenevaDarrell Dziver, Vice President of Brett Young, Chair of the Forage and Turf Advisory Group for the International Seed Federation, CanadaRose Souza Richards, Seed Health Manager, International Seed Federation, SwitzerlandCarrie Serwetnyk, player with the Canada women's national soccer team 1986-1991, founder of "Equal Play FC"Víctor Umaña, CEO FIFA U20 World Cup Costa Rica Learn more about:Sanitary and phytosanitary measures explainedVideo "Let's talk Food Safety"The natural-versus-artificial-pitches controversy at the 2015 Women's World Cup in CanadaFIFA standard on pitches

Footballs are an indispensable item in the global value chain of the beautiful game.  Manufacturing, distributing and selling the balls is a complex international business.It is difficult to pinpoint where in the world a ball is actually made because the sourcing of raw materials, the design and the production happen in different countries. But one thing is certain: WTO agreements play an important role in easing trade in footballs.WTO experts Roy Santana, Michael Roberts and Úna Flanagan trace the global value chain of footballs from the Servette Football Club in Geneva via Herzogenaurach, Germany to Sialkot, Pakistan. Stopovers in Uganda and Uruguay show how international standards ease trade.We talked to:Philippe Senderos, Sporting Director of Servette FC, GenevaQasim Malik, Vice President of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce, PakistanNouman Butt, CEO of Capital Sports, Sialkot, PakistanGerardo Cal, Guide at the Estadio Centenario Football Museum in Montevideo, UruguayRobbert de Kock, President and CEO of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, SwitzerlandGeorge Opiyo, TBT National Enquiry Point, Uganda National Bureau of StandardsOliver Hundacker, Senior Director of product operations at Adidas, GermanySpecial thanks to Arshad Nawaz, Intern at the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC)Links:One match, two balls. The 1930 World Cup in Uruguay featured two footballs with different designs in the final match:Photo of the ball team Argentina used in the first half of the final of the 1930 World Cup in UruguayPhoto of the ball team Uruguay used in the second half of the final of the 1930 World Cup in UruguayAbout the famous Wembley goal — or “Hurst's overtime goal” — in the final of the 1966 World Cup between England and Germany:England v Germany (1966): The Most Controversial World Cup Final Learn more about rules of origin:Rules of origin explainedLearn more about Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT):Technical barriers to trade explainedVideo "Let's Talk Product Quality"Learn more about tariffs:Tariffs explainedVideo "Let's Talk Tariffs"

There is probably no group of people who will talk with more passion and expertise about trade-related aspects of the game of football than soccer enthusiasts within the WTO.In this first episode of "Trade Goals", we introduce a group of WTO pundits with deep knowledge in realms such as trade in goods, trade in services,  trade-related aspects of intellectual property and communications who talk about what football means to them, both personally and professionally. Throughout the podcast season, they will try to make sense of the global value chain of the beautiful game.Setting the scene are Michael Roberts, Roy Santana, Antonia Carzaniga, Wolf Meier-Ewert, Jana Borges, Markus Jelitto, and Una Flanagan.The figure about the size of the global football economy comes from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who visited the WTO in September 2022.Football and trade for development. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Public Forum 2022

International trade has progressed enormously since the founding of the WTO in 1995. The world trades a lot more – from just over 5 trillion dollars' worth of goods in 1995 to more than 22 trillion dollars in 2021. The world also trades in new ways - e-commerce accounts for more than 20 percent of total retail sales worldwide. Supply chains have also revolutionized trade, leading to the rise of products made "in the world". Despite this radical transformation, the WTO and the rules of trade remain largely unchanged. Ambassador Didier Chambovey of Switzerland, the General Council Chair, and the WTO's Joan Apecu talk about the efforts to keep the organization fit for purpose and ready to respond to the realities of 21st century commerce.