Interactive Webinar: ASEAN and Supply Chain Resilience

The Institute for International Trade invites you to join us for an interactive discussion with thought leaders on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and supply chain resilience.

In the wake of COVID 19, supply chain resilience has emerged as a key theme for trade policy discussions.  While this applies particularly to health-related supply chains, prior to the pandemic’s outbreak the trade wars had provoked regional discussions on this issue.  But what does supply chain resilience mean? What does it mean in an ASEAN context?  And how should Australia interact with emerging regional agendas related to this issue?

Date: Thursday, 13 August 2020

Time: 4pm to 5pm (ACST)

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Discussion panel

Professor Peter Draper (Moderator) is Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade at The University of Adelaide.

Shandre Thangavelu (Presenter) is Associate Professor at the Institute for International Trade at The University of Adelaide, and author of Supply Chain Resilience: Reducing Vulnerability to Economic Shocks, Financial Crises, and Natural Disasters.

Mr Michael Mugliston had a 40-year career as an Australian government official working on trade and economic issues prior to leaving the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2018. Since then he has been a Visiting Fellow at two Australian universities. 

Michael led Australia's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with South East Asia from 2005 to 2017. He was also Australia’s Senior Economic Official for ASEAN-related trade matters during this period.   In 2010 Michael was awarded a Public Service Medal for his work leading Australia’s negotiation of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA. Michael was responsible for AANZFTA implementation from 2010 to 2017. 

Michael led Australia’s negotiating team during the preparatory phase and the first five years of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations (2011 to 2017). He was also the lead negotiator for the Malaysia-Australia FTA, which entered into force in January 2013, and for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with Indonesia until 2015. From 1987 to 1994 Michael’s multilateral trade policy work concentrated on the GATT Uruguay Round services and intellectual property negotiations. Michael was also involved in international environment negotiations from 1995 to 1997, particularly the Kyoto Protocol climate change negotiations.  During the late 1990s Michael was involved in contributing to Australia’s policy response to the 1997-98 East Asian Financial Crisis and in maintaining trade flows through appropriate policy advice on the use of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation’s National Interest Account.

Michael served overseas as Deputy Head of Australia’s Mission to the EU in Brussels (2001-2004), Counsellor to Australia’s Mission to the GATT in Geneva during the Uruguay Round (1991-1994) and First Secretary (Commercial) at the Australian High Commission in London (1984-19

Dr Deborah Elms, Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre. The Asian Trade Centre works with governments and companies to design better trade policies for the region.  Dr. Elms is also Vice Chair of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and sits on the International Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance and is Chair of the Working Group on Trade Policy and Law.  She was also a senior fellow in the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Trade Academy. Previously, Dr Elms was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations (TFCTN) and Senior Fellow of International Political Economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her projects include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and global value chains. Dr. Elms received a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, a MA in international relations from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees from Boston University. Dr Elms publishes the Talking Trade Blog.

For further insights on ASEAN and the latest challenges for supply chains in the region, read our recent opinion editorial on COVID-19 and the ASEAN Summit: Acting on Medical Supplies and Food Security.