World Trade Organisation Public Forum 2024, Geneva, Switzerland: A brief account of Day One from an Aotearoa New Zealand perspective

Inside the grand offices of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, the Director-General and her entourage were greeted with karakia (prayer) and waiata (song) from Aotearoa and karanga (call) from Africa as they were escorted through an Indigenous art exhibition by International Trade Centre officer Chloé Mukai and WTO Civil Society Advisory Group and Te Taumata board member Tania Te Whenua. Among the artists was Linda Munn, an original designer of the tino rangatiratanga flag who spoke on a panel entitled “Towards ethical & inclusive trade: Indigenous peoples, traditional cultural expressions and fashion,” along with James Johnson, an Alaska Native of the Tlingit Ch’áak’ Dakl’aweidi Clan (Eagle Killerwhale), and Fatouma Sawadogo Maiga of Burkina Faso. As they started speaking, I wanted to tell someone to turn up the volume. The adjacent astute New Zealand trade official from Matapihi among other parts, Tane Waetford, must have noticed my difficulty and gestured to a hearing device nearby, which I incorrectly attached till seeing how another attendee had arranged his. Viola! Kua rongo!

From this first session, it was clear to me that collaboration between Indigenous artisans and global brands can be mutually beneficial, protective, developmental, and profitable, not just monetarily but enriching in relationships when based on reciprocity, agreed terms of trade, facilitated by capable Indigenous intermediaries like CABES who ensure fair compensation and continuous capacity building. The result: global brands that tell Indigenous stories in respectful, responsible, and imaginative ways and give back to community (ka pai, James!); respect for the ‘tino’ (tino rangatiratanga) movement as a protective mechanism for asserting Māori authority (tō kaha ake tonu, Linda!); and maxing out the capacity of local weavers because every girl in Burkina Faso is now wearing traditional garments (ka pai, Fatouma!).

Later in the day, under the indoor tree in the atrium, was Session 23 called “The five pillars of Inclusive Trade” where expert panellists were offering insights on what inclusive trade means and how it plays out for Indigenous peoples, women, LGBT and other vulnerable communities. There is an assumption here that all members of these groups are vulnerable and that all vulnerabilities are the same, but that’s another conversation. Question of the day for me came from Deputy Director, Office of the Chief Economist at Global Affairs Canada, Jacqueline Palladini, who asked whether low skilled men who tend to be first to lose their jobs in economic downturns could be seen as falling within this group of vulnerable peoples. Far out! Nadia Hasham was first to answer in the affirmative. Her reasoning? They should because it is not just women who can be excluded from trade and its beneficial effects, but men too. This reminded me of the talks the late Dr Ngatata Love used to give on the impact of New Zealand’s economic reforms of the 1980s. The result was massive job losses for low skilled Māori men, family breakdowns, upswings in mental health issues and intergenerational unemployment.

On the question of inclusive trade and Indigenous peoples, there was more pessimism than optimism. Assistant professor Amrita Bahri encapsulated the dilemma with figures: as 80% of critical minerals needed for the ‘green transition’ lie under Indigenous lands mainly in Latin America, do we allow the world’s companies to override and deprive Indigenous peoples of their resources to meet insatiable global demand for their material wealth? Mining leaves large holes in the ground, destroys access to clean drinking water, and other serious environmental damage for others to fix—could it be done better, in ways that are mutually beneficial, and what happens if the Indigenous peoples say “no,” and can they? Trade assumes, Bahri reminded us, that it is a good thing because it lowers costs, renders choice, and Indigenous peoples as consumers are better off. Indigenous peoples, however, tend to be excluded from trade by developed countries and their firms. So, how do we protect Indigenous rights while enabling Indigenous peoples to participate in and benefit from trade in equitable and sustainable ways? More work to be done and is being done on this question elsewhere as Carrie Stoddart-Smith quipped, a veteran of the Public Forum compared to this novice, and I am pleased to say a PhD student of mine.

Later in the day, it was off to the Library where Session 35 was underway. Entitled “Next Generation approaches to trade and development,” the panel was organised by Georgetown University professor and co-founder of the Center on Inclusive Trade and Development Katrin Kuhlmann. I was eager to meet Katrin because our mutual friend and colleague Dr Mia Mikic had introduced me, and through this connection we were able to entice Katrin and her crew to join us on Tauhokohoko, a 5-year research programme on indigenising, measuring, and enabling Indigenous trade Waikato University is leading together with Te Taumata. In this session, two of Katrin’s former master’s students were recalling chapters they had contributed to a book called “Next generation approaches to trade and development.” What a wonderful way to help students’ ideas be more widely read than by their professors as disposable essays for grades.

One of Katrin’s students and now senior associate in the Trade and Industrial Policy practice at Global Counsel, Emilie Kerstens, offered some empowering remarks. Someone asked Emilie “where do you get your ambition for trade and climate change?” Her reply: “with many globally significant crises, we have no choice but to act.” She also commented on a recurring theme, that MC13 in Abu Dhabi was a hopeless affair, without progress on anything substantial. Just below the surface of media attention on the schoolyard fight between large stubborn states and the rest lay many nations, led by developing countries, who want sustainable trade because they have no choice. But also because evidence shows, Emilie says, that economically, sustainability pays off. Moreover, she said that young people can have good ideas too! Who would have thought, aye. Ka mau te wehi (excellent)! Moving from academia, to a think tank, and now consultancy, I am sure we have not seen the last of Ms Kerstens; an inspiration for young people everywhere to engage in trade and trade policy.

It was wonderful to meet Her Excellency Clare Kelly, New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation and her six-person team, particularly James who has family at Tāneatua and Rūātoki, and helped a brother out with getting into the forum! Thank you, James!

Bumping into OECD economist and trade analyst Jane Korinek was also great. She had good things to say about our Te Raupapa Waikato Management School economics student Jake Koekemoer who spent time at the OECD in Paris earlier this year as an intern working on Indigenous trade (see where homework can take you, Miss Hiria Mika! But you already know that, aye miss). Then of course, Tane and I bumped into the other Jane—Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey. She seems to be at the sharp end of every fight worth fighting, with incredible energy and intellect, keeping us all honest in our collective endeavours for a better and more just world, alongside some of her formidable mates—wāhine toa (leaders) Annette Sykes and Moana Maniapoto, both speakers at the CPTPP Indigenous trade conference called Te Kāhui a Māui we held last June.

Some ideas are already percolating from today’s frivolities. Here’s some that are top of mind: (1) a two-day scholarly symposium on Indigenous trade with papers invited from representatives of the world’s international and Indigenous organisations, on condition they are coauthored with Indigenous practitioner and academic experts and rangatahi (young people), who are funded to attend in person—any takers from prospective hosts and co-funders welcome (inspired by an Indigenous economics symposium at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution I attended, hosted by Terry Anderson and Dominic Parker in 2019); (2) a proposal for Tauhokohoko to host a panel session at the WTO’s 2025 Public Forum, focusing on indigenising, measuring, and enabling Indigenous trade; (3) an edited book on Indigenous trade comprising papers coauthored by academics, students, and practitioners (inspired by Katrin Kuhlman’s brilliant efforts in this regard); (4) a research centre on Indigenous trade in Aotearoa to galvanise research, policy, and practice; and (5) me hoki atu ahau ki te pito o tōku whaea – “be still by the belly button of your mother”—some advice my mother gave me last night to return home to my tribes. If anyone beats me to the punch on any of these, go for it, but please do a good job!

It’s been great hanging out with Tane, Carrie, Tania, Linda, and others from our neck of the woods, and meeting new people. Tākiri mai te ata! Let’s see what tomorrow brings.