Benoît Prieur via Wikimedia Commons
WTO Reform and Transatlantic Interests
Speakers:
Thomas Duesterberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Heather Hurlburt, Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Stormy Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany
Luisa Santos, Deputy Director-General, BusinessEurope
Moderator:
Peter Rashish, Vice President and Director of the Geoeconomics Program, AGI
As the World Trade Organization approaches its 14th Ministerial Conference at the end of March in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the issue of reform is high on the agenda. Both the U.S. administration and the European Union have presented proposals for change in the last few months that, while not taking identical approaches, do present overlapping concerns. Two areas in the spotlight are the Most-Favored Nation principle that ensures equal treatment among WTO members and the role of plurilateral agreements—or “coalitions of the willing”—as an avenue for promoting trade integration, rulemaking, and economic security.
In this webinar, experts will discuss the challenges facing the global trading system; how the United States, Germany, and the European Union can work together to update the WTO’s operating system; and other options that may exist to promote transatlantic interests in a more conflictual and geopolitical economic environment.
Thomas J. Duesterberg is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. An expert on trade, manufacturing, economics, and foreign policy, Dr. Duesterberg leads project work on trade with Europe and China, reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), global competition in advanced technologies such as 5G, and the strength of the U.S. manufacturing sector. He has previously served as executive director of the Manufacturing and Society in the Twenty-First Century Program at the Aspen Institute and as President and CEO of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.
Heather Hurlburt is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and has served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai during the Biden administration. She previously founded and ran the New Models of Policy Change project at the think tank New America. She has also been a member of the Policy Planning staff under Secretaries of State Albright and Christopher, and a Special Assistant and speechwriter to President Bill Clinton.
Stormy-Annika Mildner is the executive director at the Aspen Institute Germany and a Geoeconomics Non-Resident Senior Fellow at AGI. She was Sherpa of the Business 20 (B20), the official Engagement Partner of the German G20 Presidency, and has previously served as Head of the External Economic Policy Department at the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
Luisa Santos is Deputy Director General at BusinessEurope, responsible for international relations. She is also Vice-Chair of the Domestic Advisory Group on the EU that monitors the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. She was a member of the TTIP Advisory Group and of the Expert Group on EU trade agreements of the European Commission. She has also been the chief representative for the Portuguese textile industry in Brussels and Trade and Industry Manager for Euratex—the European Apparel and Textile Confederation. Her academic background is law and management.
This session will convene via Zoom. Please contact AGI Program Associate Mr. Jack Fornasiero at jfornasiero@aicgs.org with any questions.
