Trade Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

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


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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.

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

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.

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 Admiral Stavridis has been reading:

Pedaling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression by Douglas Irwin

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.”

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 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

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

Nebraskans Support Trade But Trust in Media and Washington is Low by Jill O'Donnell

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

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

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

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

Carl Pilon, Senior Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis, explains the role of Canadian trade commissioners in the U.S.-Canada trading relationship, the Canadian perspective on next steps before USMCA takes effect, and the potential impact of new covid-19 related border restrictions on U.S.-Canada trade. He also discusses the top question he gets from Canadian businesses about Nebraska and the region covered by the Minneapolis consulate. 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:

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement: Economic Impact Assessment Global Affairs Canada, February 26, 2020