Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics 2023
On Friday, September 22, Atlantik-Brücke and the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics center held their flagschip economics conference, the Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics in Berlin. Following the inaugural conference in Frankfurt last year, this year’s forum gathered economic policymakers and financial leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to outline the way forward on the use of the tools of economic statecraft.
Among the high-level speakers were Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, the Netherland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sigrid Kaag, and the United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Their keynotes as well as the panel discussions at the Transatlantic Forum made it clear: We live in a new era of geoeconomics. That is why we are looking forward to the Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics 2024 to continue the transatlantic dialogue on crucial issues at the nexus of economic and foreign policy.
DZ BANK generously hosted this year’s conference. Bloomberg was the media partner of the Transatlantic Forum.
You can watch the recording of the conference here:
Welcoming Remarks
Souâd Benkredda, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, DZ BANK
Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman, Atlantik-Brücke
Fred Kempe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Council
Session I – Building common ground: Transatlantic approaches to economic statecraft
Michael Lieberman, Assistant Director for Enforcement, Office of Foreign Asset Control, US Department of the Treasury
David Lim, Co-Director, Task Force KleptoCapture, US Department of Justice
David Reed, Director, Sanctions Directorate, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Darta Tentere, Policy Advisor to the EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan, European Commission
Moderated by Kim Donovan, Director, Economic Statecraft Initiative, GeoEconomics Center, Atlantic Council
Keynote I – Navigating the geoeconomic era with an open approach
Sigrid Kaag, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Government of the Netherlands
In conversation with Fred Kempe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Council
You can read the full transcript of Minister Kaag’s keynote remarks here
Session II – G20, BRICS, and the future of multilateralism
Jörg Kukies, State Secretary; Economic, Financial, and Energy Policy Advisor, German Federal Chancellery
Daleep Singh, Chief Global Economist and Head of Global Macroeconomic Research, PGIM Fixed Income
Moderated by Stephanie Flanders, Senior Executive Editor for Economics | Head, Bloomberg News | Bloomberg Economics
Keynote II – GeoEconomic deepening of transatlantic cooperation
Dr. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, German Federal Government
In conversation with Julia Friedlander, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantik-Brücke
You can read the full transcript of Minister Habeck’s keynote remarks here
Session III – Adapting at speed: The private sector and geopolitics
Nils Aldag, Chief Executive Officer, SunFire
Candace Kelly, Chief Legal Officer, Stellar Development Foundation
Christian Sewing, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank
Michael Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Defence and Space
Moderated by Josh Lipsky, Senior Director, GeoEconomics Center, Atlantic Council
Session IV – The clash of economics and national security Trade, industrial policy, and supply chains
Elizabeth Baltzan, Senior Advisor to the United States Trade Representative, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Denis Redonnet, Deputy Director-General, Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, EU Commission
Anahita Thoms, Board Member, Atlantik-Bruecke and Partner, Baker & Mckenzie International
Moderated by Sarah Bauerle Danzman, Senior Fellow | Associate Professor, Atlantic Council | Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies
Keynote III – A Conversation with US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai
Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative, Office of the United States Trade Representative
In conversation with Stephanie Flanders, Senior Executive Editor for Economics | Head, Bloomberg News | Bloomberg Economics
You can read the full transcript of US Trade Representative Tai’s keynote remarks here.
Closing remarks
Julia Friedlander, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantik-Brücke
Josh Lipsky, Senior Director, GeoEconomics Center, Atlantic Council