Tuesday, 20th May I 9.30am - 3.45pm I Allianz Forum I Pariser Platz 6, 10117 Berlin (Conference room 4th floor)
- 9.30 – 9.50 | Registration and Coffee
- 9.50 – 10.00 | Welcome by Johannes Lindner, Co-Director Jacques Delors Centre, Hertie School Berlin
10.00 – 11.20 | Panel I - The EU’s New Industrial Strategy
Keynote: Guy Lalanne, Acting Head of Division, Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate, OECD
Speaker
- Joana Almodovar, Director, Cabinet of Strategy and Studies, Ministry of Economy, Portugal
- Beate Baron, Director General for Industrial Policy, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
- Nils Redeker, Deputy Director Jacques Delors Centre, Hertie School Berlin
Moderated by: Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior advisor, Bertelsmann Foundation
Industrial policies can help direct resources for technological change in areas that help solve societal problems and cushion the social costs of innovation. At the same time, it can lead to inefficient subsidy races, fiscal overburden and sharpen trade conflicts. The keynote and the panel will discuss in the light of the OECD’s industrial policy framework and different countries’ experiences how the benefits of industrial policies can be reaped and costs be limited. The OECD framework is designed to help countries develop effective and adaptive industrial policies, maximizing impact in terms of technology and industrial development while maintaining the benefits of fair and open trade and global competition. In the context of mounting geo-economic tensions and the rise of digital technologies with strong network effects and hence economies of scale this is both urgent and particularly challenging.
11.30 – 13.00 | Panel II – Reconciling industrial policy and competition
Keynote: Justus Haucap, Professor for Economics, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Speaker
- Elga Bartsch, Director General for Economic Policy, German Federal Ministry for Ecomomic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany (TBC)
- Bernhard Ganglmair, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Mannheim and Head of the junior research group Competition and Innovation at the ZEW
- Susanne Gewinnus, Referatsleiterin Industrie- und Forschungspolitik, DIHK
- Ori Schwartz, Head of Competition Division, OECD
Moderated by: Åsa Johansson, Deputy Director, Directorate for Economics (Policy and Research), OECD
The interplay between industrial and competition policy is gaining prominence in policy debates worldwide. In Europe, both the Draghi and Letta reports highlighted the need to modernise EU competition rules to tackle productivity gaps and bolster competitiveness in critical sectors. At the same time, discussions are intensifying on how to design industrial policies that promote market entry, enhance competition, and drive innovation. This session will explore how recent research on the interaction between industrial and competition policy can inform the development of industrial strategies across advanced economies.
- 13.00 – 14.00 – Lunch Break
14.00 – 15.30 Panel III – Reconciling industrial policy and open trade
Keynote: Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School, USA
Panel Discussion
- Sonali Chowdhry, Research Associate at the Firms and Markets Department, DIW Berlin – German Institute for Economic Research
- Julian Hinz, Professor of International Economics at Bielefeld University and Head of Trade Policy Research Group, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
- Marion Jansen, Director, Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), OECD
- Katrin Kamin, Senior Director for Government Affairs Strategy, Siemens AG, and Kiel Institute Fellow (TBC)
Moderated by: Nicola Brandt, Head of OECD Berlin Centre
Industrial policies can foster the market breakthrough of new technologies by accelerating their development, fostering market demand, and otherwise supporting scale up to bring about economies of scale. Yet, some instruments of industrial policy, in particular subsidies to individual firms can raise the risk of increases in consumer prices, ineffective subsidy races and outright trade wars, as the EU and other blocs are sharpening their countervailing measures and sometimes consider tariffs to remain competitive in the face of substantial industrial subsidies in trading partner economies. Meanwhile, concerns over access to raw materials and inputs that are critical for the development of new technologies are increasing. Overall, countries worldwide are preparing for a more protectionist global landscape, especially around key strategic sectors. Many are trying to lower imports of critical inputs, including through efforts to develop homegrown industries or advance a more circular economy. In this context, the session will examine the interplay between trade and industrial policy, explore the outlook for the coming years, and discuss potential strategies to advance industrial strategies while maintaining open trade and prevent a global race to the bottom.
