Renee Bowen, Dean’s Professor of International Business and Global Affairs at Georgetown University, will deliver the opening keynote on U.S. politics and prospects for the World Trade Organization at a Oct. 29 symposium hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance.
The CME Group Foundation Symposium of the Yeutter Institute will be held at Nebraska Innovation Campus and feature the theme “Opportunities for Leadership in the Global Trading System.” The event, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., is free and open to the public and includes lunch.
Current issues for the WTO include, on the negative side, the organization’s stalled process for dispute settlement and, on the positive side, the increased multilateral use of Joint Statement Initiatives — discussions involving subsets of WTO members — to address practical needs such as standardized approaches to e-commerce.
Advanced registration for the symposium is required. To view the full agenda and register, click here. Conference sessions also will be livestreamed.
Panel discussions during the symposium will examine a range of leadership opportunities at a time of flux in international trade.
A panel moderated by Andrea Durkin, vice president for international policy with the National Association of Manufacturers, will analyze issues involved in the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Durkin has served as assistant U.S. trade representative for WTO and multilateral affairs.
Current frictions involving the agreement include the Mexican government’s threat to prohibit import of genetically modified corn from the United States, and complaints from the Mexican and Canadian governments over the U.S. interpretation of provisions concerning automotive rules of origin.
The panel will consist of Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, now with AgTrade Strategies and formerly assistant U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy; Carlo Dade, director of trade and trade infrastructure for the Canada West Foundation; and Juan Carlos Baker, CEO of Ansley International Consultants and Mexico’s former vice minister for foreign trade.
Ken Levinson, CEO of the Washington International Trade Association and WITA Foundation, will moderate a panel on “New Dynamics of U.S. Trade Policymaking and Negotiations.” The panelists will be Kathleen Claussen, professor with the Georgetown University Law Center; Amy Porges, with Porges Trade Law and formerly senior counsel for dispute settlement and head of enforcement at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and Meredith Broadbent, senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Christine McDaniel, senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center and non-resident fellow for the Yeutter Institute, will moderate a panel on “The Indo-Pacific: Shifts in Supply Chains and Regional Integration.” The panel will consist of Katrin Kuhlmann, Georgetown University law professor and faculty co-director for Georgetown Law’s Center on Inclusive Trade and Development; James McVitty, vice president for trade strategy, sustainability and stakeholder affairs — Americas, Fonterra (New Zealand); and Warren Maruyama, partner with Hogan Lovells and former general counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The symposium with close with keynote remarks, “The Future of Trade in an Era of Disruption,” by Edward Alden, Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor at Western Washington University and senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.
The symposium is a biennial program of the Yeutter Institute, made possible by support from the CME Group Foundation.
As part of the vision of Clayton Yeutter, Husker alumnus and renowned trade expert, the Yeutter Institute connects academic disciplines related to law, policy, business and agriculture to prepare students for leadership roles in international trade and finance, support interdisciplinary research and increase public understanding of these issues.
