Mr. Maarten Smeets, is a non resident senior fellow at the World Trade Institute (Bern, Switzerland), senior associate at the Clingendael Academy (Den Haag, Netherlands), guest Professor at the University of International Business and Economics (Beijing and Shanghai, China), a member of the steering committee of the G-20 Trade and Investment Research Network (TIRN) and T-20 task forces (South Africa, Brazil). He managed the World Trade Organization’s Chairs Program (WCP) and is a senior advisor to WTO Chairs in Asia, Latin America and Africa. As a consultant, he advises governments on trade policies, including on accessions. He has published in leading journals and authored, edited and peer-reviewed books. He was a board member of the IMF led Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) and holds a PhD from the Law Faculty (Maastricht University), a masters degree in economics, trade and Finance (Tilburg) and degrees from the Graduate Institute for International Studies (Geneva) and the Ecole Nationale & Administration (ENA-Paris).