OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2015. Sluggish growth in global trade volumes has broad consequences for domestic economies, but strong political leadership and bold trade policy can help return trade to pre-recession levels, Amgad Shehata, UPS Senior Vice President for International Public Affairs and Strategy, writes in a new book launched today at The Graduate Institute, Geneva.

Shehata is one of several authors contributing to the book titled “The Global Trade Slowdown: A New Normal?” Contributing authors inlcude top academics, business leaders and policymakers from around the world.

Shehata’s article, “Bold political leadership and vision can unlock global trade growth,” explains the value of connecting new policies with modern technologies that facilitate communication and connectivity between countries. Together, these will ensure a future in which trade is easier, less expensive and more democratic.

“When trade operates in that kind of friendly environment, everyone has the potential to win by participating in global value chains,” Shehata writes.

The book, published by the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research, examines four key areas of the study of post-economic-crisis trade: the determinants of the slowdown; issues related to global value chains; East Asian dimensions and the ‘China factor’; and policy perspectives.

The online version of the book, edited by Bernard Hoekman, director of Global Economics at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, is available for download here.

The Centre for Economic Policy Research was founded in 1983 to enhance the quality of economic policy-making within Europe and beyond. The Centre is an independent, non-profit organization and takes no institutional policy positions.

For more information on UPS’s views on the importance of global trade and its role in everyday commerce, click here.