Michael Roberts Email & Phone Number

Geneva, Ge, Ch

Geneva, Switzerland

The WTO-led Aid for Trade Initiative seeks to mobilize development finance to improve the trade capacity of developing countries. The Initiative is organized around biennial work programs comprising periodic meetings of the Committee on Trade and Development, thematic workshops and a monitoring and evaluation exercise which is analyzed in reports launched at Global Reviews. The Initiative is run by a unit that I manage that collaborates with colleagues in other divisions at WTO and a broad array of external partners (OECD, IMF, WBG, UN agencies, regional development banks, EIF, ITC, and others, including civil society). Reports are published in close coordination with the OECD, the WTO's monitoring partner on aid for trade.Furthermore, I regularly engage in other cross-divisional projects. These include:Trade Goals podcast (May-December 2022). A seven part podcast series for the WTO Trade Talks series that examines the global value chain of football through the lens of WTO agreements. COVID-19 Trade Monitoring Group (March 2020-December 2021) I helped establish the COVID-19 Trade Monitoring Group at WTO that issued more than 25 information notes, reports, infographics and a video. The Group involved colleagues across the WTO and close collaboration with external partners, notably the WHO, GAVI, CEPI, IPFMA, IMF, World Bank and others.Trade and Natural Disasters (April 2018-December 2019). I developed and led a research project that examined the interaction of trade and natural disasters. The resultant studies examine the economic and trade impacts of geophysical (e.g. earthquakes) and hydro-meteorological (e.g. hurricanes) events on six recently-disaster affected WTO Members (Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Nepal, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu) and explore the legal and trade policy options available to disaster-affected countries.

Geneva, Switzerland

I started my WTO career as an Economic Affairs Officer working on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. I acted as Secretary to the dispute settlement panel for Japan Apples (DS245). I also established and led the growth of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) from an initial grant of $0.3million (received from the World Bank) to a multi-donor trust fund with annual resources of US$5 million. The STDF supports developing countries through projects to improve their capacity to implement food safety, plant and animal health standards and so access safe trade opportunities.

Moscow, Moscow City, Russia

I worked as an expert on agriculture and trade issues for an EU-funded TACIS project with responsibility for policy support, including on WTO accession issues. The two year project involved the establishment of a policy support unit at an agriculture institute (VIAPI) in Moscow that collaborated with a network of corresponding research institutes across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The project worked closely with the CIS experts to deliver a series of research reports and events organized in Belarus, Georgia and Russia.

London, England, United Kingdom

I worked as a self-employed consultant (full-time 1998-99 and part-time 2001) on EU- and UK-funded projects in Eastern Europe and Pakistan dealing with agricultural trade issues and as a freelance writer for Financial Times Food Business and Euromonitor. I authored market research reports on "Functional Foods" and "Genetically Modified Foods". I also successfully pitched and delivered a conference on Intellectual Property to the conference organization division of the Financial Times

Twickenham, London, Uk

I was recruited by this specialized, Australian-owned agriculture and development consultancy company to expand its project portfolio in the area of trade policy and export promotion. I was responsible for developing and delivering a series of short term consultancy projects which focused on providing trade policy advice to investors, government officials and companies in Africa and Eastern Europe.

London, England, United Kingdom

I joined the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to work on European and international trade policy issues. My time at the Federation overlapped with the discovery of the human variant of mad cow disease and associated disruption of the business and trade of FDF members. My main tasks were to draft position papers and represent the Federation at national and European meetings.

Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium

I was recruited as a stagiaire (intern) and then as a consultant expert to support research work undertaken by the Forward Studies Unit about the future of EU development cooperation and the transition to democracy in South Africa.

Post Graduate Certificate, Sports Law

Master Of Science - Ms, Agricultural Economics

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Development Studies (Sociology And Social Anthropology)