A public seminar will be held on 30 April at 09.30-12.00 in Eesti Pank to discuss the impact of US trade policy on the global economy, the European Union and Estonia.

Eesti Pank Governor Madis Müller will give an opening presentation on the theoretical and practical impacts of trade barriers on the economy. He will be followed by the experienced trade negotiator John Alistair Clarke, who is a former Director of International Affairs at the EU Commission, and Head of the EU Delegation to the WTO and the UN. His presentation will speak about changes in recent years in the trade policy of the European Union, strategic responses to US policy, and ways that businesses can become more resilient.

The discussion in the seminar will feature Estonian policy-makers and business leaders. They will try to establish how businesses can adapt to the changing trade rules and find new target markets. They will consider what the public and private sectors can do to help the economy grow in a difficult international environment. The speakers in the discussion will be Andreas Kaju of Meta Advisory Group, Indrek Laul of the American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia and the Estonia piano factory, Sirli Männiksaar of Ericsson, Mariin Ratnik from the Foreign Ministry, and Sandra Särav from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank Ülo Kaasik will chair the discussion.

Working language of the seminar: the presentation by John Clarke will be given in English but the other seminar presentations and the panel discussion will be in Estonian and no interpretation will be provided.

Participation: the seminar will be filmed and livestreamed on the Eesti Pank social media channels and website. The full version of the seminar and the presentations in pdf format will be posted on the Eesti Pank website. Attendance in person is by invitation.