XV Symposium on International Trade: Seeking Answers to a Changing Trading System
On November 5, 2019, the American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) hosted the XV edition of the “Symposium on International Trade: Seeking Answers to a Changing Trading System,” in partnership with the ABCI Institute and with support of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC. The symposium hosted renowned policymakers and academics to speak at five panels on the current challenges in the multilateral and US trading system. AUWCL Professor Padideh Ala’i opened the symposium together with ABCI Institute Chairman Aluisio Lima-Campos and the Chargé D'Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Nestor Forster.
The first panel, composed of José Guilherme Reis, Executive Director for Brazil at the Inter-American Development Bank, Antonio Nucifora, Practice Manager for Trade and Regional Integration of the World Bank, and Stacy J. Ettinger, Partner at K&L Gates LLP, discussed in depth the effects of recent trade developments in the multilateral and regional scenarios, and what to expect from the economic outlook going into 2020.
The second panel discussed the trade war between China and the United States. According to the speakers, it might take 20 years to know who are the winners and losers of today's tariffs and export restrictions. The panelists, Lucas Queiroz Pires, from Alston & Bird, John Magnus, Partner at Trade Wins, Otaviano Canuto, Senior Fellow at OCP Policy Center, Ken Weigel, Partner at Alston & Bird, and Pablo Bentes, Partner at Baker Mackenzie, agreed that this is a tumultuous time and that U.S. exporters are the losers in the trade war.
The luncheon panel, moderated by the Financial Times World Trade Editor, James Politi, focused on the Brazil-US trade relations. The speakers included Renata Vasconcelos, Senior Policy Director of the Brazil-US Business Council, Ney Canani, First Secretary of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington DC, Gabrielle Trebat, from McLarty Associates, and Ralph Ives, Executive Vice President for Global Strategy & Analysis at AdvaMed.
The fourth panel discussed WTO cross-cutting issues and shed light on gender, environmental and labor issues. Renata Amaral, Visiting Scholar at the AUWCL, Jeffrey Schott, Senior Fellow from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Paula Tavares, Senior Legal and Gender Specialist at the World Bank, Desiree LeClercq, AUWCL Adjunct Professor, and Claire Brunel, from the School of International Business at American University debated about the role of the WTO in addressing these cross-cutting issues, and how these subjects can be included in the trade agenda.
The last panel engaged in a vibrant discussion on what we should expect from the multilateral trading system. Aluisio de Lima-Campos, Simon Lester, Associate Director at the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the CATO Institute, Lisa Schroeter, Global Trade and Investment Policy Director at the Dow Chemical, Uri Dadush, Senior Fellow at OCP Policy Center, and Matthew Nicely, Partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP gave their perspectives and suggested solutions for the current WTO and Appellate Body crisis.