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 Matters

Trade Deals Under the Radar

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

Adjustment, Part 2: Rethinking Adjustment Assistance

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

Adjustment, Part 1: Misdiagnosing the Problem of Economic Mobility

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

How We Talk About Trade

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

Listening to Americans on Trade Policy

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

The WTO & Domestic Politics

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

What’s Next for U.S. Trade Policy?

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

Revitalizing the WTO

U.S. small businesses are major beneficiaries of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a U.S. program that allows eligible developing countries to export certain products to the U.S. duty-free to spur economic growth in those countries. The program expires on December 31, 2020. Dan Anthony of The Trade Partnership and Coalition for GSP discusses the rationale for GSP, the issues at hand for Congress, and what’s at stake if it expires. 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 Dan Anthony has been reading lately: Rising Import Tariffs, Falling Export Growth: When Modern Supply Chains Meet Old-Style Protectionism by Kyle Handley, Fariha Kamal, and Ryan Monarch

A Ticking Clock on GSP

E018: Most global trade in goods moves by sea—but what makes that possible? U.S. Navy Admiral (Ret.) James Stavridis walks through the global network of naval forces that supports international trade and discusses the linkages between this system and national security, power and prosperity. He also discusses his experience building an anti-piracy maritime coalition that included Russia, China, and Iran when he served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander—and what lessons that may offer today as Russia and China build up their naval forces at a time of increased trade tensions. Show Notes: What Admiral Stavridis has been reading: Pedaling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression by Douglas Irwin

Power, Prosperity and the Sea

E017: In the US-China Phase One Deal, China agreed to make 57 structural changes that improve market access for agricultural goods. The majority of those changes have been implemented. U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Gregg Doud discusses the significance of these changes, what it took to reach an agreement, and why he describes the deal as “historic.” Show Notes: What Ambassador Doud has been reading lately: The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder by Peter Zeihan How to Set World Trade Straight, Wall Street Journal Opinion, Robert E. Lighthizer How to Make Trade Work for Workers, Foreign Affairs, Robert E. Lighthizer

Is Agriculture a Bright Spot in US-China Relations?

E016: Salman Ahmed, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and project editor of a new report on Nebraskans’ views of foreign policy discusses the report takeaways—including what surprised him most about Nebraska. The project was designed to test assumptions about how U.S. foreign policy interacts with the economic wellbeing of the middle class and bring heartland voices to a debate that is typically influenced by coastal cities. He also discusses possible ways to better integrate the economic experience of American citizens into the foreign policymaking process. 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: U.S. Foreign Policy for the Middle Class: Perspectives from Nebraska, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the University of Nebraska System Maker and Privilege Taker: U.S. Power and the International Political Economy by Michael Mastanduno Failure to Adjust: How Americans Got Left Behind in the Global Economy by Edward Alden The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics by Jefferson Cowie 

A Closer Look: Nebraskans on U.S. Foreign Policy

E015: Kellie Meiman Hock, Managing Partner at McLarty Associates, walks through the challenges playing out in the run-up to USMCA’s entry into force on July 1, including the deal’s new rules for the auto industry, labor provisions, and U.S.-Mexico differences over how to define what is an “essential business.” She also weighs in on the debate over regionalizing supply chains brought about by Covid-19 and where she sees the greatest potential wins in ongoing U.S.-Brazil trade negotiations. 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: Clashing Over Commerce, Douglas A. Irwin Trade is Not a Four Letter Word, Fred Hochberg 

Countdown to USMCA

E014: Darci Vetter, Vice Chair of Agriculture, Food and Trade at Edelman and former U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator, explains why food security depends on the free global movement of food, how Covid-19 has impacted food supply chains, and how protectionist actions can backfire. She also discusses the U.S.-China Phase One trade deal and raises an issue in U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade that she believes looms even larger than USMCA implementation. 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: ‘Sadness’ and Disbelief From a World Missing American Leadership, Karin Bennhold, New York Times Export Prohibitions and Restrictions, World Trade Organization, April 23, 2020 

Covid-19 and the Food Supply Chain

E013: David Morfesi, director of international trade at MinterEllison, Australia’s largest law firm, discusses the relationship between global health and trade, including the role of trade experts at the World Health Organization, how countries use trade measures differently during public health crises, and why the reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic will be as unprecedented as the event itself. He also explains what the pandemic may mean for supply chains in the future and how it may change views of China when it comes to trade. 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: DDG Wolff: Time to start planning for the post-pandemic recovery World Trade Organization, April 9, 2020 

Trade and Covid-19

Making trade relatable by unpacking the new developments and long-running trends reshaping global markets. Brought to you by the Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Trade Matters

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