AmCham Singapore/Australia/Japan Digital Economy Agreement Workshop

Event Details

The rapid growth of e-commerce in this region has transformed the traditional boundaries of business, from products and services to geographic borders. E-commerce is now a critical source of a country's economic growth, and a strong impetus for governments to take concrete steps in addressing trade in this digital age and improving the flow of business across borders.

The aim of this workshop is to help businesses better understand Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) and its role in growing business, and Singapore, Australia and Japan's roles as conveners of the Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce (JSI) at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Agenda:

Panel discussion on DEAs
Breakout sessions with attendees to (1) address questions from attendees, and (2) gather information on specific areas of DEAs that attendees would like to hear more about

Time of Event (varies depending on country):

9am to 10:30am (Singapore Time)
10am to 11:30am (Tokyo Time)
12pm to 1:30pm (Sydney Time)

For any enquires please contact the AmCham Programming and Events Team.

Speakers

James Carouso

(Moderator) Managing Director of BowerGroupAsia

Eunice Huang

Head, APAC Trade Policy at Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Andrew Jory

(Breakout Room Facilitators) Minister-Counsellor (Trade) at Australian Embassy in Washington DC

Toru Kajiwara

Director, International Trade Division of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

Caroline McCarthy

Senior Trade Negotiator at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia

Hadri Sopri

Senior Assistant Director, Digital Economy and Services of Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore

Jim has been at the forefront of economic diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific for much of his career. Prior to joining BGA, he was the senior foreign policy advisor to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. Earlier, Jim served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia. He also worked as the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, in mid-2019.

Following a 14-year career in international banking and finance, Jim joined the U.S. Department of State in 1995. Since then he has served in a variety of economic and commercial roles in the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Australia, Thailand and Cyprus, including acting as a member of the U.S. teams negotiating free trade agreements with Australia and Thailand.

Jim also served as the counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and as director of the State Department office responsible for relations with the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and East Timor. In 2019, he received the State Department’s distinguished honor award.

Jim holds a degree in economics from Hamilton College and a master’s degree in international finance from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. He lives in Singapore with his spouse, Elizabeth Visbeek.

Andrew Jory is the Minister-Counsellor (Trade) at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC. Prior to this position he was the Assistant Secretary, Goods and Market Access Branch, Office of Trade Negotiations in Canberra. In this role Mr Jory was Australia’s Deputy Chief Negotiator in the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement and ran the goods agenda. Mr Jory was Australia’s Chief Negotiator in the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Pacific Alliance Free Trade Agreement. Prior to this Mr Jory ran Australia’s goods team in Australia’s Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, Switzerland, where he played a key role in the WTO Decision which eliminated export subsidies in agriculture. Mr Jory was also Australia’s lead goods market access negotiator in the TPP and closed market access deals with the US, Mexico and Canada.

Toru Kajiwara graduated from University of Oxford in 2001 with M.Phil in International Relations, and currently serves as Director, Services Trade Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Director, Office of Global Health Cooperation, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (2017-2019), Counsellor at Permanent Mission of Japan to UNESCO (2014-2017) in Paris, and as Deputy Director at International Economy / OECD / European Union Economic Affairs Divisions (2013-2014), as well as the Southeast Asia Division (2010-2012) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Kajiwara worked as Advisor at the Office of Executive Director for Japan in the World Bank Group in Washington DC. He was also involved in UN Security Council affairs and African development in his earlier careers at the Foreign Ministry.

Hadri Sopri is a Senior Assistant Director at MTI, with dual roles under the Digital Economy and Services, and Multilateral Trade Policy teams. In this position, he leads negotiations for the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce (JSI) and heads the WTO policy team. He was also part of the negotiating team for the Singapore-MERCOSUR FTA and Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement.

Prior to this position, Hadri served as First Secretary (Economics) covering digital trade, services, and government procurement issues at Singapore’s Permanent Mission to the WTO, in Geneva, Switzerland, where he played a key role in launching the JSI negotiations.

Prior to assuming his post in Geneva, he was on the APEC policy team, where he worked on a wide range of economic issues, including regulatory matters, environmental goods, services and investment.

AmCham Singapore Member

Employees in member company and part of the membership roster

Member PriceComplimentary

Member Company Singapore

Employees in member company but not in the membership roster

Public PriceComplimentary

Non-Member

Attendees that are not part of a member company and/or the membership roster

Public PriceComplimentary

AmCham Australia Member

Attendees who are members of AmCham Australia

Public PriceComplimentary

AmCham Japan Member

Attendees who are members of AmCham Japan

Public PriceComplimentary

Organizers

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HSCM

The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

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Event Details

Speakers

James Carouso

Eunice Huang

Andrew Jory

Toru Kajiwara

Caroline McCarthy

Hadri Sopri

Tickets

AmCham Singapore Member

Member Company Singapore

Non-Member

AmCham Australia Member

AmCham Japan Member

Organizers

Community

Connect with 117 people attending this event