Beyond Tariffs: Reconnecting Economic Policy with Social Development

Taking place in the margins of the 64th Commission for Social Development, this side event will provide a focused, policy-oriented space to reflect on how evolving economic policy frameworks - shaped by green and digital transitions - can better support social development outcomes, including decent work and social inclusion.

Thirty years after the Copenhagen Declaration and following the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration in 2025, the discussion will explore how trade, industrial, and regulatory policies are being reconfigured, and what this means for workers and global supply chains. Drawing on applied research and practitioner perspectives, the session will examine practical policy and industry-level tools that can help align economic transformation with social development goals.

The event is co-organised by the TASC Platform, Geneva Graduate Institute, and the Global Labor Institute (GLI), Cornell University, and co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. 

It contributes to the Global Coalition for Social Justice thematic area: Strengthening a just transition and the social dimension of sustainable development, trade and investment. The discussion and outcomes may be of particular interest to the Partnership for Cotton.