Max Mendez-Parra

Max is a trade economist with more than 21 years of experience in analysing trade and trade policy in developing countries. He was a trade official at the Ministry of Agriculture in Argentina where he provided analytical support in the multilateral and bilateral negotiations. He worked for the Inter-American Development Bank in the impact analysis of multilateral and bilateral negotiations in Latin America. He has an extensive knowledge of the WTO and bilateral agreements. He has provided research and analytical support in the EU GSP Mid-term review, including the assessment of the use of preferences by beneficiaries. More recently, he has been leading the Sustainable Impact Assessment of the EU Mercosur agreement. He has extensive expertise in the assessment of trade policies in developing countries in Africa and Latin America. Recently, Max has led a serious of research programmes involving trade and investment in the UK and with the UK and developing countries. He is frequently consulted by the media and he has given evidence in many Parliamentary enquiries on Brexit and the UK trade policy. Max is member of the UK Department of International Trade Working Group on Trade for Development. Max is currently the technical lead of the Supporting Investment and Trade in Africa (SITA) programme that aims to support the negotiations and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In this role, Max works closely with the AfCFTA Secretariat and other institutions in supporting the investment protocol negotiations. He is currently Principal Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute where he leads the Trade team. He is currently the technical lead of the Supporting Investment and Trade in Africa Programme. He has obtained his Phd from the University of Sussex.