The 5th AVID Thought Leadership Forum
The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) presented the 5th AVID Thought Leadership Forum ( TLF) last April 8 at the Hidalgo and Luna Halls of the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Working together for the overall betterment of the industry and the country’s economy, AVID with its partners in the public and private sectors aims to advance Philippine business, with special interest in driving the competitiveness of the local auto industry.
With the tag line, “Enabling Ideas, Engaging Partnerships,” the TLF is AVID’s premier platform for industry stakeholders to engage in dialogue on critical issues that affect the future of the industry and the economy.
For this year, the TLF brought together an international roster of industry leaders and experts for a global conversation on the phenomenon of the Global Value Chains (GVCs).
GVCs pertain to activities across nations and regions, comprising the full range of activities required to bring a product or service from its conception to the end- user. These activities include design, raw materials sourcing, assembly, marketing, and distribution, and implicate multiple policy areas, such as trade policy concerns, investment policy, and a broad range of public policy- driven non- tariff measures that affect goods and services.
GVCs are proven to foster increased competitiveness and inclusive growth worldwide.
The Forum sessions covered the concept , landscape and experiences of GVCs.
Session 1 had Dr. Ben Shepherd, Founder of Developing Trade Consultants USA tackling “The Globalization of Value chains: Lessons from Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Session 2 zoomed in on the GVC landscape of the ASEAN. Invited to talk about “Regional Value Chains, SMEs and Trade Slowdown” was Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Advisor for Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
For the same session, Dr. Fukunari Kimura, Chief Economist of the Economic Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), will expound on the ASEAN’s timely response to GVCs in the context of trade and investment policies.
The final session focused on the Philippine context, specifically strategies, opportunities and challenges, with Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba’s presentation, “The Automotive GVC: Decoding Opportunities for the Philippines.”
Guest moderator was Atty. Anthony Abad of Bloomberg TV. Atty. Abad is Managing Director of TA Trade Advisory Group and Director of the Ateneo Center for International Economic Law.
According to AVID president, Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, “On our fifth year and aware of our increasingly integrated regional and global business landscape, we purposely gave a global flavor to the AVID TLF so that we may be able to appeal to and extend to a broader audience our advocacy for the development of the Philippine automotive industry and the upholding of consumer welfare. We want to step up in our involvement in the global automotive conversation.”