Print VersionCIBER Events
Free Trade under Threat: Impact for U.S. Business
Overview
The global trading system erected after World War II is facing some of its most severe threats ever. The specter of protectionism looms large as the world heads into recession and pressure mounts on politicians to save jobs. Another serious blow to the structure underpinning global commerce came when the Doha Round of global trade talks collapsed in 2008.
Previous U.S. administrations have pursued a policy of negotiating bilateral free trade accords with a multitude of countries including Chile, Morocco, Singapore, South Korea, as well as a regional deal with Central America. But some trade experts contend that this strategy has weakened the trading system by undermining the WTO. Furthermore, the bilateral accords failed in their goal of serving as “building blocks” in a global pact.
How should the Obama administration approach these issues? What is the outlook for resuscitating the Doha Round? What does the threat to global trade mean for U.S. business?
Paul Blustein, journalist in residence in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and former staff writer for the Washington Post, will be the featured speaker.
11:30 – 12:00 – Registration and networking
12:00 – 12:30 – Buffet lunch
12:30 – Program begins
2:00 - Adjourn
Date(s)
2/5/2009
Time
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location
Grainger Hall Executive Dining Room
975 University Avenue
Madison, WI
Parking
Limited parking available under Grainger Hall. Please contact Julie Lane at uwmadisonciber@bus.wisc.edu to request parking.
Cost
$30 for MITA members
$35 for non-MITA members
(lunch included)
Registration
Seating is limited. To reserve your spot, please RSVP to Julie Lane at uwmadisonciber@bus.wisc.edu by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 30.
Payment will be accepted by cash or check at the door on the day of the event.
Target Audience
Business community
Organized By
UW-Madison Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
Co-Sponsors
Madison International Trade Association (MITA)
UW-Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE)
Contact Information
Suzanne Dove (608) 265-4938 sdove@bus.wisc.edu
Speaker Biographies
Paul Blustein is the Journalist in Residence in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. His primary fields of expertise are international trade and international economic policy and he specializes in writing about complex economic issues and institutions, with the aim of making the subjects appealing for expert and non-expert readers alike. He is the author of The Chastening: Inside the Crisis That Rocked the Global Financial System and Humbled the IMF (Public Affairs, 2001), and And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina (Public Affairs, 2005). He is currently writing a book about the World Trade Organization and the Doha Round.
Prior to joining Brookings in 2006, Blustein was a staff writer at the Washington Post, where he covered economic policy and related issues. He served in the Post’s Tokyo bureau as Asian economics correspondent from 1990 to 1995. As the Post’s international economics correspondent, a position he assumed in September 1995, he reported stories from countries all over the world including Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina, Honduras, Indonesia, China, Qatar, Greece, Mali and Ethiopia. Among the prizes he has received for his reporting is the Gerald Loeb Award, generally regarded as the most prestigious prize in the field of business and economic journalism.