6 May 2025 (18:00-19:00 UK time)
VIRTUAL CONVERSATION
Economy and Trade - Trump, tariffs, and the death of globalisation: Are we entering a new era?
Speakers: Greg Hands plus US commentator (to be announced soon)
Moderator: Alex Boyd
Introduction
Trump’s sweeping new tariffs may mark a historic turning point for global trade. Are we witnessing a temporary shift, or has the world crossed a rubicon, entering a new era of protectionism, economic nationalism, and geopolitical fragmentation? With rising inequality, fiscal pressures, and deepening questions about who truly benefits from globalisation, the trading system that defined the late 20th and early 21st centuries is under unprecedented strain.
This online seminar, featuring former UK Trade Minister Greg Hands, will explore whether we are seeing the start of a long-term retreat from global economic integration and what that could mean for the UK, Europe, and the world.
Are we heading for a disorderly unwinding of established trade models? Will new supply chains, alliances, and regional systems emerge in response? And how can policymakers and businesses adapt to a more divided, less predictable global economy?
Speakers' bios
Greg Hands was born in 1965 to British parents in New York. Greg lived in the USA until he was seven years old and the family moved back to the UK.
In 1985 Greg embarked on a gap year in West Berlin. Thereafter, Greg studied Modern History at Cambridge University. He joined the Conservative Party whilst at Cambridge. After university, Greg began a career in finance, and worked on trading floors in London and New York.
In 1998 Greg was first elected as a Councillor in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and from 1999 until 2003 he was Leader of the Conservative council group.
In 2005 he was elected as Member of Parliament for Hammersmith and Fulham and for the 2010 General Election Greg was selected to fight the newly created constituency of Chelsea & Fulham which he won with a huge majority. Greg successfully defended the seat of Chelsea & Fulham in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 General Elections.
From January 2009 to May 2010, Greg served as Shadow Treasury Minister, and after the 2010 General Election was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In October 2011, Greg joined the Government Whips, where he worked for almost four years. During this period, in 2013, he was appointed Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of HM Household. Following the 2015 General Election, Greg was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
In July 2016, Greg was appointed Minister of State in the newly created Department of International Trade. Greg worked in promoting exports, inward investment, trade agreements and tariff policy.
Greg was re-appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy in the Department for International Trade in February 2020. In this role, Greg focused on new UK Free Trade Agreements, the UK Global Tariff, and the UK’s role at the World Trade Organisation.
From September 2021 until September 2022, Greg served as Minister of State for Climate Change, Clean Growth and Energy at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Greg then served as Minister of State for Trade Policy after his third appointment to this role in October 2022.
In February 2023, Greg was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party and on 13 November 2023, Greg was appointed Minister of State for Trade at the Department for Business and Trade, as well as Minister for London.
Alex Boyd is a Director at Strand Partners, a consultancy based in London. Alex formerly worked as a senior civil servant and special adviser in UK Government as well as in the European Parliament. Alex is also a Director of the Ideas Network 2030.