Election Insights: The Future of US Trade Policy

Sept. 19, 2024
The 2023 edited volume “The Future of Trade: A North American Perspective” (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023), assesses current trade policy challenges facing the U.S. and offers a series of recommendations which, if followed, have the potential to improve both U.S. domestic trade policy and foreign policy.
Concentrating on the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the escalating rivalry between the U.S. and China, and reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the volume seeks to advance the ongoing dialogue between governments and stakeholders. It proposes recommendations through an analysis of law, economics, and public policy in relation to the U.S. economy and its role in the global economic order. As the U.S. and other world powers retreat from globalization, the authors argue, the U.S. faces short- and long-term challenges that will require more effective and thoughtful policy consensus at both the national and international levels.
In the nine months since the book was published, additional questions have arisen, inter alia, regarding the enforcement of the USMCA during election years for the U.S. and Mexico, the de-risking of U.S.-China trade with an emphasis on electric vehicles and chips sectors, and the continuing search for the WTO’s relevance along with its increasing dysfunctionality. Our expert panelists, with input from audience questions and comments, will respond to these issues and others related to U.S. trade policy in this dual election year.
9:00 am
Welcome Remarks
Tony Payan, Ph.D.
Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies, Director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, Baker Institute for Public Policy
9:10 am
Opening Remarks
C.J. Mahoney, J.D.
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Cloud + AI, Microsoft; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
9:30 am
Moderated Q&A
9:45 am
Break
10:00 am
Panel conversation: The U.S., Mexico, and Canada
Moderated by: Tony Payan, Ph.D., Baker Institute for Public Policy
Meredith Lilly, Ph.D.
Professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University
David A. Gantz, J.D.
Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Samuel M. Fegtly Professor Emeritus, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Orlando Pérez
Senior Counsel, TMI Abogados
Rolando Duran Rocha
Nonresident Program Advisor, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Director, Texas-Mexico Binational Commission
11:00 am
Moderated Q&A
11:15 am
Lunch
11:30 am
Panel conversation: The U.S. and China
Moderated by: Steven W. Lewis, Ph.D., C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow, Baker Institute for Public Policy
Daniel C.K. Chow, J.D.
Frank E. and Virginia H. Bazler Chair in Business Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
Simon Lester, J.D.
Nonresident Fellow, Baker Institute International Economics Program; Co-founder, WorldTradeLaw.net and China Trade Monitor
Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen
Co-CEO, The Nearshore Company
12:30 pm
Moderated Q&A
12:45 pm
Closing Remarks
Tony Payan, Ph.D.
Baker Institute for Public Policy
David A. Gantz, J.D.
Baker Institute for Public Policy
1:00 pm
Adjourn
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The Baker Institute is a nonpartisan public policy institute at Rice University. Ranked the No. 1 university-based think tank in the world, its mission is to bridge the world of ideas and the world of action. Visit our website to learn more: www.bakerinsti....