11 Jul 2016

growth & trade, innovation, energy & climate

Global/Multiregional, trade liberalization; megaregional trade agreements, Trade, economic integration and globalization, TTIP

CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research to Serve as Founding Member of New Alliance of Global Think Tanks Dedicated to Liberalizing Trade, Promoting Innovation, and Curbing Innovation Mercantilism

CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research today announced that is a founding member of the newly launched Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance, an international network of think tanks dedicated to promoting greater trade liberalization, curbing “innovation mercantilism,” and encouraging governments to play proactive roles in spurring innovation and productivity. The Alliance includes 10 founding members from North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. It will continue to add new members in coming months.

“We are honored to be a founding Member of the New Alliance of Global Think Tanks and to have a possibility to continue to push for opening the benefits of free trade for all. The freedom to choose has always been one of the core CASE interests, and CASE is especially interested in trade liberalization, ways in which countries can move towards freeing trade, and focusing on the pros and cons of the new wave of megaregional trade agreements. Economics and reality have shown again and again that trade liberalization is vital for growth, especially for emerging markets, and there is a need for in-depth and transparent discussion on these topics, which, we believe, this Alliance will enhance.” – Dr. Christopher A. Hartwell, CASE President.

All Alliance members have signed a joint Statement of Principles, with the goal of advancing a global agenda that encourages greater market- and rules-based global competition and trade liberalization, while at the same time championing a vital, constructive role for governments in accelerating growth and prosperity through greater innovation.

The founding members of the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance include:

· Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (United States)

· The Lisbon Council (Belgium)

· Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Policy (China)

· Fundación Idea (Mexico)

· Center for Social and Economic Research (Poland)

· Legatum Institute (United Kingdom)

· C.D. Howe Institute (Canada)

· ICRIER (India)

· Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis (Sweden)

· TicTac de la CCIT (Colombia)

The Alliance will highlight and cross-pollinate member organizations’ work on trade, globalization, and innovation policy, and create opportunities to collaborate on events, research and reports, and policy development on related topics.

“Globalization can generate lasting, worldwide prosperity, but only if all countries share a commitment to playing by the rules and fostering across-the-board, innovation-based growth strategies,” according to Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, who is spearheading this effort. “We are launching the Alliance to help address these issues, which we view as the great economic challenge of our times. We hope that by joining together, the Alliance will be a one-stop-shop for policymakers looking to seize the benefits of maximizing global innovation: improved standards of living in more-developed and less-developed countries alike.”

Visit the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance website.

Follow @GTIPAlliance for the latest updates.