20. Revitalizing the WTO

Trade policymakers at the World Trade Organization and elsewhere have begun to think about trade as an instrument that can improve gender equality across the world. What do they need to know to design trade agreements and rules that can help women? Kate Francis, an independent consultant currently serving as a gender advisor at The Asia Foundation, explains the barriers that women face to economic empowerment, how they differ from place to place, and what kind of data we need to inform strategies that can make a difference. All views expressed by Francis in this podcast are her own. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes No Silver Bullet for Women Entrepreneurs, Kate Francis Can fashion ever be fair? Bama Athreya The Rise and Decline of Patriarchal Systems: An Intersectional Political Economy, Nancy Folbre The World Bank’s Gender Data Portal data2x Is Access to Information One Solution to Growing Women’s Economic Opportunity in Asia? Jill O'Donnell Enjoy listening? Leave us a review and submit a topic idea or question for future episodes.

What happens when trade rules can’t keep up with the consequences of global economic integration? Jonathan Hackenbroich of the European Council on Foreign Relations explains how countries leverage economic interdependence to apply political pressure in pursuit of a range of policy goals and why the World Trade Organization was not designed to reign in this behavior. He also shares insights on the European Union’s proposed Anti-Coercion Instrument--the bloc’s unprecedented response to rising instances of economic coercion. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes Tough trade: The hidden costs of economic coercion by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Filip Medunic and Pawel Zerka, February 2022 Measured response: How to design a European instrument against economic coercion by Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka, June 2021 Anti-coercion instrument explainer What Jonathan has been reading lately: The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War by Nicholas Mulder (Yale University Press, 2022) Enjoy listening? Leave us a review and submit a topic idea or question for future episodes.

This episode is dedicated to the trade deals you haven’t heard about. Sometimes called mini or skinny deals, over the last few decades the U.S. has made over 1,200 of these agreements. These deals cover a range of issues, vary in scope, are often not made public, and rarely go out of force. They have one thing in common: all are initiated by the Executive branch and enacted without a final “thumbs up” from Congress. Kathleen Claussen, Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and former associate general counsel at USTR, is tracking down these agreements. Kathleen joins us to explain what they are and what we need to know about them. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. What Kathleen has been reading lately: How responsive is Trade Adjustment Assistance? Sung Eun Kim and Krzysztof Pelc Afronomicslaw

Trade Adjustment Assistance is set to expire July 1, with no signs to date that Congress will soon act to renew it. Grant Aldonas is back on Trade Matters with part two on “adjustment.” Aldonas discusses Trade Adjustment Assistance and the components necessary for what he would call a true adjustment assistance program, one that addresses the broader challenge confronting workers and fosters nimbler and more proactive responses to change. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. What Grant’s been reading lately: Open: The Story of Human Progress by Johan Norberg The Rise and Decline of General Laws of Capitalism by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

How do we adjust to a competitive global economy and define the challenges facing workers? Grant Aldonas, former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, discusses what he calls a misdiagnosis of the problem, political constraints on changing the conversation, and the need to review domestic policies that can be obstacles to economic mobility. Part one of two on “adjustment.” Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes A town renewed: Factory in tiny DeWitt, Nebraska, putting tools on the market again, Omaha World Herald, May 2021

Has the parlance of trade kept up with changes in the way trade actually happens? Dr. Phil Levy, Chief Economist at Flexport and former White House and State Department economic policy adviser, joins us to discuss this gap, why it exists, and how it relates to public expectations about what trade agreements can and should accomplish. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes Does the U.S. Need a Vigorous Industrial Policy? by Phil Levy and Christine McDaniel, Discourse Magazine, February 16, 2021

There is growing momentum around the effort to understand how Americans everywhere perceive the impact of trade policy and their role in international commerce. Catherine Novelli, President of Listening for America, draws on her experience as a trade negotiator and State Department official and recent conversations with over 1,000 Americans nationwide to discuss this trend. She explains why input from a broad swath of Americans is important to the development of trade policy, how the U.S. government is set up to receive feedback, and how diverse perspectives can be integrated into trade policymaking. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes What Cathy is reading: Five things to know about the Facebook lawsuits by Heather Kelly, The Washington Post, December 9, 2020

When the U.S. loses a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization, how does that decision impact U.S. domestic politics and electoral outcomes? Economists and political scientists are teaming up to propose a new research agenda to examine risks facing international economic institutions and connections to domestic politics. Dr. Renee Bowen, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Commerce and Diplomacy at UC San Diego, discusses what she and colleagues have learned so far and where they believe there are still gaps in the research. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes: Designing an International Economic Order: A Research Agenda by Renee Bowen and J. Lawrence Broz What Dr. Bowen is reading: Clashing Over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy by Douglas A. Irwin

How the U.S. should engage in the Asia-Pacific region will be high on the trade policy agenda for the incoming Biden administration. Wendy Cutler, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, draws on her long career as a U.S. trade negotiator to explain what’s at stake in the region, what the future may hold for U.S.-UK and U.S.-Kenya trade negotiations now underway, and how CPTPP member countries view the potential return of the United States to the agreement. She also discusses what a presidential transition looks like from inside USTR and offers steps the U.S. government could take to gather more input from Americans on trade policy. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes: Reengaging the Asia Pacific on Trade: A TPP Roadmap for the Next U.S. Administration by Wendy Cutler What Wendy is reading: Press Conference by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe March 15, 2013

The world trading system is at a turning point, and the role of the World Trade Organization is at the center of the discussion. Clete Willems, Washington lawyer and former White House trade advisor, makes the case for reforming the WTO across all three of its pillars: negotiations, implementation and monitoring, and dispute settlement, and points to a critical alliance to move the system forward: the US and EU. Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Show Notes: What Clete Willems has been reading lately: Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future by Marko Papic Related reading and listening: Revitalizing the World Trade Organization by Clete Willems Why is there a Crisis at the World Trade Organization? Trade Matters Podcast, Episode 5