Deep Trade Agreements: Measurement and Impacts
A 2021 Virtual Symposium of the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Keough School of Global Affairs
November 17, 2021, on Webex
The traditional focus of trade agreements has been to provide member countries greater market access to each other's traded goods via tariff-rate reductions. Modern trade agreements, however, increasingly emphasize coordination in policy areas beyond tariffs on traded goods, liberalize foreign direct investment and services trade, offer protection for intellectual property rights, and have labor and environmental provisions. The 2021 virtual model symposium will examine how various provisions embedded in these modern trade agreements are quantified as well as assess their likely economic impacts.
The symposium is composed of two morning sessions, each with four presentations (see Symposium Schedule tab). Each presentation will last for around 15 minutes, followed by a 10-minute Q&A when invited audiences have the opportunity to ask questions. The symposium will close with a panel discussion with participants from the U.S. Trade Representative's office, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), moderated by Notre Dame professor Jeffrey Bergstrand (co-organizer of the symposium) presenting their views on the impact of different provisions in deep trade agreements.
This symposium is held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
This symposium is held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
Introduction
8:30-8:40 am EST
Dr. William Powers, Chief Economist at the USITC
Opening Remarks from USITC
8:40-8:55 am EST
Chair Jason Kearns, Chair of the USITC
Opening Remarks from Keough School
8:55-9:05 am EST
Dr. Jeffrey Bergstrand, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
First Session
9:05-10:35 am EST
Measurement of Deep Trade Agreements
Moderator: Saad Ahmad, USITC
- World Bank’s Deep Trade Agreements Project (Michele Ruta, World Bank)
- Quantifying Investment Facilitation (Axel Berger, German Development Institute)
- Liberalization of Trade and Investment in Services (Joscelyn Magdeleine, WTO)
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Labor Provisions in FTAs (Damian Raess, World Trade Institute, University of Bern)
Second Session
10:45 am -12:15 pm EST
Impacts of Deep Trade Agreements
Moderator: Wen Jin (Jean) Yuan, USITC
- Impact of Investment Facilitation (Zoryana Olekseyuk, German Development Institute)
- Deep Trade Agreements and Trade in Services (Saad Ahmad, USITC)
- Do Labor Provisions Impede Trade? (Marcelo Olarreaga, University of Geneva)
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Effectiveness of Environmental Provisions (Clark Lundberg, ERS, USDA)
Panel Discussion on Deep Trade Agreements
12:30-2:00 pm EST
Moderator: Jeffrey Bergstrand, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
- Marion Jansen, Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD
- Robert Koopman, Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO
- William Shpiece, Chief Economist and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics, USTR
-
Mayur Patel, Chief International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (R)
Presented by the U.S. International Trade Commission and by the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Kellogg Institute's Initiative on International Economic Integration Lab.