Please join us for the night to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of this year's Awardees! Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at The National Press Club Awards recipients include:
“Woman of the Year” awardee Chrystia Freeland, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Canada
“Business Legacy” awardees Doral Cooper and Kate Clemans, C&M International
“Government Service” awardee Kelly Ann Shaw, National Economic Council, National Security Council
“Emerging Leader” awardee Hemal Shah, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
“Lifetime Achievement” awardee AmbassadorJudy Reinke, U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro
“WIIT Program Section of the Year” awardees Jing Zhu and Grace Kim, Trade Remedies Program Section
“WIIT Member of the Year” awardee Kathi Lunardi, WIIT Charitable Trust Chair
Student/Government WIIT Member $90 / Regular WIIT Member $110 / Non-Members $135 *Corporate Members have complimentary tickets available. Please contact info@wiit.org for more information.
May 22, 2019 | 6:00pm - 8:15pm
The Multilateral Trading System at Risk?
Updating Global Trade Rules and Reforming the WTO
Hosted at the Residence of the Ambassador of Norway, Washington, DC
CO-SPONSORED EVENT: Understanding Trump's National Security Tariffs: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorizes the President, after investigation by the Department of Commerce, to "adjust" imports determined to threaten the national security, In March 2018, President Trump imposed a 25% duty on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum, Most countries are covered by these tariffs but some have negotiated quotas with the United States, National security tariffs are now looming for automobiles and auto parts, and section 232 investigations are underway for uranium and titanium sponge.
Two expert panels will examine:
The arcane law and its limits as tested by litigation,
Proposed legislation to restrict the President's authority.
The steel and aluminum tariffs and the product exclusion process, and how these have impacted US manufacturers and global supply chains.
The effect of such tariffs on the auto industry.
The impact on the negotiation of free trade agreements.
June 3rd from 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Jack Morton Auditorium at The George Washington University, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
June 12, 2019 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm
2019 WIIT Annual Meeting Open to Current WIIT Members Only
Hosted at The National Press Club, Washington, DC
June 12, 2019 | 6:00pm - 9:00pm
2019 WIIT Annual Awards Dinner
6:00 - 7:00 PM | Cocktail Reception
7:00 - 9:00 PM | Dinner and Awards Program
Hosted at The National Press Club, Washington, DC
July 19, 2019 | 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Leadership Lessons: Breaking the Glass
Health Care Ceiling
Hosted at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC
Have you Updated your WIIT Profile?
WIIT Members please take five minutes to update your profile, express your interest in participating in the speakers bureau, and provide complete information for the WIIT Membership Directory. Your participation will deepen the WIIT network of members and create professional and speaking opportunities. Thank you for your investment of time to strengthen WIIT.
Trust Tidbit
The Trust is proud to announce the winners of our Spring scholarship: Amanda Abrom and Locky Catron. Check out more information on both of these fantastic young women below. Note that we are still looking for one mentor; if you are willing to speak with one of our winners a few times in the next 12 months, please email klunardi@usasean.org.
Amanda Abrom Amanda Abrom is an entering Masters student in International Affairs at Columbia University. Amanda’s interest in international trade all began after attending the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the World Investment Forum 2018 as a Youth Delegate where she spoke to 300 young leaders at the UN Geneva Headquarters. Currently, she is a Fulbright Scholar teaching English and volunteering with UNICEF España in Madrid, Spain. Additionally, Amanda volunteers with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (Youth) as a Global Schools Ambassador and has presented their work at the Vatican Youth Symposium in Vatican City.Previously, Amanda worked on the US Department of State’s Exchange Programs as a university Peer Mentor for students from 13 countries participating in the Middle Eastern Partnership Initiative and the SUSI Women's Leadership Program. She has taught English in Chile with the Chilean Ministry of Education and volunteered for non-profits in Latin and South America. In her future studies and career, Amanda hopes to explore issues related to trade, workforce development, and the future of youth employment. She is so grateful to have received this scholarship and would like to thank the WIIT Trust for their support and for believing in her!
Locky Catron Locky Catron is a student in the Master of International Affairs program at The Bush School at Texas A&M University. Her focus is International Development and Economic Policy. She received a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Business from Iowa State University. Between academic programs, Locky helped launch a start-up company that developed an open-source tractor for small-scale farmers in the US and abroad. She was also a Writing Fellow for the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative at Iowa State University.
WIIT Women in the World
WIIT Past President, Nancy Travis, attended the Global Med Tech Compliance Conference in Paris to talk about the revised AdvaMed Code of Ethics with delegates at an "Ask the Experts" session!
The Tampa Bay region is growing with entrepreneurship and business development at its core. Over the course of the conference, participants, comprised of OWIT global chapter members, partners, and attendees, will be given extraordinary access to trade experts, networking opportunities, and business insights. Indeed, OWIT’s vision for its members and participants is ambitious: to empower women in both developed and emerging nations and throughout the world to powerfully shape international trade.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Wednesday, October 23
Orlando Business Day
Thursday, October 24
#OWITConTampaBay - Year of the Woman! 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Port Tour (Subject to Weather) 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Awards Dinner 6:30 PM
Friday, October 25
OWIT Board Meeting. All are welcomed to attend!
No Host Dinner at Brio, 6:30 PM
The Global Risks of a US-China Deal The US should lead a return to a rules-based framework rather than grab the easy option
by Neena Shenai, AEI
As US-China trade talks resume this week, the topics for discussion will include China’s demand for the creation of two-way “enforcement offices” in the US and China, with the threat of US unilateral tariffs as a backstop if all else fails.
It is surprising that a US administration that has staked so much on its muscular trade negotiating tactics might be satisfied with this, given China’s inconsistent record of compliance with its trade commitments.
Designing an enforcement mechanism has not been simple. The truth is that the Trump administration has no legal means to enforce China’s compliance with any deal. The US could refuse to lift the tariffs it has imposed, or it could levy more. But do tariffs adequately address China’s violations of intellectual property rights, cyber theft and forced technology transfer?
It is true that China has broken the rules time and again. But the US has confronted China for stealthily violating trade rules while unashamedly breaking the rules itself. It has imposed unilateral tariffs against China — under a US law it vowed not to use in contravention of its WTO obligations — and used precarious national security justifications to levy unilateral duties on steel and aluminium against China and other trading partners.
The administration defends its actions by pointing out that China and others cheat, while the US follows the rules and loses. Yet its punitive approach has not yielded results. Instead, the US has ceded the high ground, damaged its relationships with key trading partners, and allowed China to pay lip service to the rule of law and free trade.
It is not too late for the US to take a strategic, long-term approach with China by recommitting to the rule of law and focusing on established enforcement tools. Given that the US has no free trade agreement with China, the US should use WTO rules and norms to frame China’s non-compliance. While the WTO has faced fundamental challenges, the organisation offers the only global set of trade rules that reflect core US values and constitute the basis upon which the US can build global support to challenge Chinese economic practices.
Bilateral discussions should ensure that China complies with its unfulfilled WTO commitments, and with any so-called “WTO plus” commitments that may be made in a bilateral deal, such as on state-owned enterprises and cross-border data flows. Embedding these discussions within a strong US commitment to the WTO rules-based framework would focus attention on China as the rule breaker, rather than the US, and enable support from key US trading partners.
Such a “return” to the WTO by the US and China should include two vital elements: a request for a waiver for any deal that includes WTO-inconsistent measures, and a commitment to submit to fast-track WTO arbitration should the two countries disagree.
The waiver: the $250bn US unilateral tariffs, along with China’s retaliation, are dubiously legal under WTO rules. Details trickling out of the bilateral talks suggest that a deal may include a reduction of these tariffs if certain benchmarks are met, or, in cases of non-compliance, their reimposition (called tariff snapbacks). By seeking a WTO waiver for their bilateral deal, the US and China would ensure that any tariff mechanisms were WTO consistent. This pragmatic compromise recognises that the US and China will use bilateral negotiations to address issues, while avoiding a public rebuke of the WTO.
Arbitration: under current WTO rules, arbitration is available to WTO members as an alternative means of dispute resolution. The US and China could agree to resort to WTO arbitration for disputes over existing and new trade commitments, which would be expeditious, unlike general dispute settlement, and would also allow the US to legally impose tariffs (or other trade measures) on China if it refused to comply. It has the added benefit of not having been used. Arbitration between the world’s largest economies would be groundbreaking and re-establish a precedent for solving disputes legally.
Facing pressure for political wins and fixated on trade deficits, the Trump administration may settle for compelling China to buy more US exports and agree to unenforceable changes to its economic model. If it chooses this path, the US will have created a managed trade framework with China — adopting a model out of China’s playbook — at the cost of its commitment to free market values and the international economic architecture.
This would waste a historic opportunity to level the playing field and ensure growth and prosperity for both countries, the world economy and the global trading system.
Published at Financial Times' Beyondbrics
Event Recaps
WIIT and the Atlantic Council Hosts May 13th Trade Talk on
US-India Trade Ties at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
On May 13 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman hosted a trade talk titled “Solving the Indian Equation: The evolving and uncertain nature of US-India trade ties” organized by WIIT in partnership with the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.
The talk which featured Amb. Richard Verma (former US ambassador to India in the Obama administration), Prof. Arvind Panagariya (Professor of Economics at Columbia University), Nisha Biswal (President of the US-India Business Council) and Mark Linscott (former USTR for South Asia) was moderated by Moushami Joshi (VP of Programming and Co-chair WTO Section, WIIT). Pillsbury Winthrop trade partner Steve Becker provided opening remarks.
The talk covered a number of themes from strategic engagement initiatives during the Obama administration, the size and opportunity presented by the Indian economy, current trade disputes and clashes between the United States and India and the path forward for the two countries. The panelists spoke candidly about seeing the trading relationship as part of a larger strategic relationship rather than resorting to a transactional approach with a focus on short term deliverables. The panelists were is agreement that a postponement of the decision to withdraw GSP benefits to India, a move opposed to by several business associations was a positive development and provided the platform for the next Indian government, which will be formed after the May 23 results of the general elections, to reset the relationship and frame a more ambitious vision for the partnership.
Several media outlets covered the event including Inside US Trade.
FREE SALARY NEGOTIATION TRAINING OPPORTUNITY!
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The Spring issue covering all things United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was released in March!
Self Confidence is one of the hardest things to achieve, especially for women. WIIT is sharing inspirational musings by women leaders to combat this and help women be less ambivalent to LEAN IN and get to the top!
“The power you have is to be the best version of yourself you can be, so you can create a better world."
CO-SPONSORED EVENT: Understanding Trump's National Security Tariffs: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962
Have you Updated your WIIT Profile?
Amanda Abrom
Locky Catron
on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for reminders on our upcoming WIIT Trade Talks and other networking events!
