WTO session to launch project exploring role of blockchain in global trade

The World Trade Organization Public Forum 2017 will host the launch of a project aimed at making new technologies work toward the expansion of global trade.

The project, "ITTI — Intelligent Tech & Trade Initiative," will launch Sept. 27 at WTO headquarters in Geneva, according to a press release.

ITTI aims to stir the debate involving the technology community, trade negotiators, business leaders and scholars on how to better pursue a constructive trade agenda. A major objective is the countering of deglobalization forces now operating in international trade.

The session is one of the first steps in a venture that brings together representatives from organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce, IBM, Gearbulk, UNCTAD and Columbia University, to assess how blockchain and cognitive technology platforms cam advance global trade.

ITTI was founded by business leader Daniel Feffer, President of ICC-Brasil, and is managed by ICC under the direction of Marcos Troyjo, co-director of BRICLab at Columbia University | SIPA, where he teaches international affairs.

"Deintermediation, trust and agile market access are made possible by these new technologies," Feffer said in the release. "My vision is that very instrumental tools, such as bringing the letter of credit to a 21st century blockchain-intensive marketplace, or modeling negotiation scenarios through AI, will enhance both transactions and trade agreements. But we've got to make sure they are inclusive of companies big and small, countries rich or emerging, so all can benefit from their extraordinary potential."