TMU CSR Institute zoom session: Countering Trump 2.0 -- What Role can "Bottom-Up" Global Coalitions Play?

Responses by individual governments or groups of governments to the actions of the Trump administration (hereafter, "Trump") affecting the international rule based order and international trade system are at various stages of development, and will be the subject of future TMU CSR Institute events. In this session, the focus is on possible ways that non-state actors (individuals, non-governmental organizations, and businesses) could potentially respond to Trump, in a cross-jurisdictional, coordinated manner. Two potential responses are explored: (1) a broad-based transnational boycott of American products; and (2) a global coalition in support of the rule of law and (relatedly) the international rules-based order.

One of the distinctive characteristics of non-state responses to Trump decisions and actions of the type discussed here is their potential to be less vulnerable to direct retaliatory "punishments" by Trump. For example, if a government responds to a United States-imposed tariff with a counter-tariff of its own, Trump can then "double down" with a second U.S. retaliatory tariff on that government. In contrast, if, for example, consumers and businesses respond in a fairly aligned transnational way with a boycott of American products, Trump does not have a state actor to punch back at. It is instead the broad-based collective action of thousands of individual actors (and as such the Trump administration does not have a government actor to target for punishment). Part of the discussion at the April 17 session will build on an earlier TMU CSR Institute session (external link)  which explored in a preliminary way the Canadian market response (businesses and consumers) to Trump. The April 17 session will zero in on the potential to "scale up" the Canadian boycott to a multi-jurisdictional market response. There are some indications (external link)  that this scaling up is already occurring.

The April 17 session will also be devoted to exploration of the potential for a global coalition in support of the rule of law and more broadly the international rules-based order, providing the opportunity to bring together a wide range of actors who depend on and/or are supportive of the need for and value of stable rules-based orders as a foundational basis for fair, efficient and prosperous societies (and relatedly, markets). Possible candidate actors to participate in a global coalition of this type could include those who directly interact with the law (e.g., those in the legal profession), those targeted by Trump (e.g., educational institutions) and those in one way or the other dependent on a stable rules-based order (e.g., businesses). The coalition could also include non-governmental organizations (e.g., those pursuing goals such as peace, democracy, human rights, anti-corruption, environmental protection, and worker protection).

A broad multi-jurisdictional coalition of this nature could directly "speak to" particular Trump erosions to the rule of law in ways which would arguably be less vulnerable to counter-actions by Trump. Neither the multi-jurisdictional market-based boycott idea described above nor the multi-jurisdictional coalition in support of the rule of law are being put forward here as panaceas. Rather, they are being positioned as unique and distinctive component pieces that could be points of departure for more broad-based actions.

Discussion in the April 17 session will focus on exploring the value, implications and practicality of the above two proposals. It is anticipated that future sessions will address and explore other state and non-state options and/or further elaborate on existing initiatives and options.

About the speakers

Isabella Bunn

Isabella is an international lawyer and policy advisor, with a transatlantic background as corporate counsel, trade and investment director, and endowed professor of business ethics. Based at the University of Oxford, she is Research Fellow in Governance and Global Ethics at Regent’s Park College and a Trustee of the Oxford Peace Research Trust. Isabella serves on the International Advisory Council of Oxford Analytica, a geopolitical consulting firm, and as Senior Advisor to its Foundation. She is the Distinguished Fellow in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society, a Fellow of the Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism, and a member of the British Academy Corporate Advisory Group for the Future of the Corporation. Isabella has a long-standing involvement with the UN Global Compact, including through its Steering Group on Business and the Rule of Law (external link)  and other initiatives related to the role of the private sector in advancing human rights and sustainable development. Throughout her career Isabella has held leadership appointments within the global legal profession, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative (external link) .

Bennett Freeman

An innovator and standard-setter for responsible business and investment, Bennett has co-founded multi-stakeholder initiatives and coalitions focused on the extractives, technology and apparel sectors. Bennett holds degrees in History from the University of California at Berkeley (1979) and Oxford (1981; English-Speaking Union Scholar, Balliol). He served as a Clinton presidential appointee in three positions at the US Department of State, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from 1999-2001. He was senior VP for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Investments, 2006-15. As principal of Bennett Freeman Associates LLC, he advises multinational corporations, international institutions and NGOs on policy and strategy related to human rights and labour rights. He was the lead author of Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders (external link) (2018) and is an Associate Fellow in the Global Economy and Finance Programme at Chatham House. Bennett is a co-founder and Steering Committee member of Business for Ukraine (external link)  (B4Ukraine), a coalition that seeks to complete the exit of foreign companies from Russia and to set higher standards for human rights due on the part of companies and investors in conflict situations—and in turn to contribute to a new ethic of geopolitical corporate responsibility to support the international rules-based order.

Toby Mendel

Toby is Executive Director and Founder of the Centre for Law and Democracy (external link)  ("the Centre"). He is also the Chair and President of Transparency International-Canada (external link) . Prior to founding the Centre in January 2010, Toby was for over 12 years Senior Director for Law at ARTICLE 19, a human rights NGO focusing on freedom of expression and the right to information. He has provided expertise on these rights to a wide range of actors including the World Bank, various UN and other intergovernmental bodies, and numerous governments and NGOs in countries all over the world. In these various roles, he has often played a leading role in drafting legislation in the areas of the right to information and media regulation. Before joining ARTICLE 19, he worked as a senior human rights consultant with Oxfam Canada and as a human rights policy analyst at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He has published extensively on a range of freedom of expression, right to information, communication rights and refugee issues, including comparative legal and analytical studies on public service broadcasting, the right to information and broadcast policy.

Dr. Kernaghan Webb

Dr. Kernaghan Webb holds Bachelor's, Masters and Doctorate degrees in law, and is an Associate Professor in the Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Law and Business. He is also the Founding Director of the TMU Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility. Prof. Webb's extensive law and regulation research and publications have among other things been cited and quoted  (external link) by the Supreme Court of Canada. Dr. Webb has also been employed by or advised governments and inter-governmental bodies, and he has been on the board of directors or otherwise assisted private sector, civil society organizations on regulatory matters. Of particular relevance to this session, Professor Webb was appointed Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact regarding the development of the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard, he has played leadership roles in the development of international and national social and economic standards, and received international and national recognition for his leadership.

Co-sponsors

This seminar is co-sponsored by the TRSM Law and Business Students Association and the TRSM Corporate Social Responsibility Student Society.