This educational program will provide foreign correspondents with the opportunity to learn from Dan Ikenson, Director of Policy Research at ndp | analytics, about the current trends in our multilateral trading system. During this program, Dan Ikenson will unpack for foreign correspondents all the critical points of his latest research on "Strategic Reglobalization: Great power rivalry comes for the multilateral trading system." This educational program is developed in partnership with the Hinrich Foundation (https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/). Participants will have access to the entire research paper that will be analyzed during the program by its author, Dan Ikenson, in an exclusive presentation for foreign correspondents. The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (AFPC-USA) is solely responsible for the definition and development of this program.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8 at 10 AM EST

VIRTUALLY | RSVP IS REQUIRED

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A central premise upon which the multilateral trading system was founded is that voluntary trade is not a zero-sum game but a positive-sum game—a win-win exchange that mutually benefits the parties involved. While it remains true that reducing trade barriers enlarges markets and increases the scope for specialization, economies of scale, and higher living standards, we no longer have the luxury of considering only the economic benefits and costs. Analysis must account for the strategic benefits and costs, as well.

The multilateral trading system is in peril because the governments of the world's two largest economies are committed to courses of action that betray contempt for the principles of non-discriminatory trade and subordinate World Trade Organization rules to their hegemonic priorities. The economic and strategic competition that has emerged between the United States and China has produced an atmosphere of intense rivalry and growing distrust, elevating national security concerns and the objective of technological primacy above the economic benefits and greater certainty of rules-based trade.

Today, interdependence is less likely to be regarded as a buffer against conflagration and more likely to be a source of anxiety about overreliance on unfriendly or undependable nations. Accounting for all these variables may render "less efficient but more secure" trading relationships optimal, opening the door to an era of strategic reglobalization.

About the Speaker:

Dan Ikenson is an economist and renowned international trade expert who has spent over 30 years analyzing, communicating, and influencing the formulation of U.S. and global trade policy. Dan joined ndp | analytics after nine years as director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, where he led a team of lawyers, economists, and political scientists conducting research on all manner of trade policy. On subjects spanning from free trade agreements to international investment treaties, trade laws to customs procedures, digital trade to the manufacturing economy, Dan has written dozens of policy papers, given congressional testimony, submitted statements and comments on proposed regulations to federal and state agencies, appeared on national news programs, and published scores of op-eds and articles in prominent media outlets. Prior to joining the Cato Institute in 2000, Dan was director of international trade planning for an international accounting and business advisory firm. In 1997 he cofounded an international trade consulting firm in Washington, and from 1990 to 1997, Dan was a trade policy analyst at international trade law practices. In addition to his many studies and articles, Dan is coauthor of the book Antidumping Exposed: The Devilish Details of Unfair Trade Law. He earned an M.A. in economics from George Washington University.

This program will be moderated by Patricia Vasconcellos, the US correspondent for Brazilian TV network SBT. Patrícia began her career as an anchor in 2001 before joining SBT in 2008. As a Latin American correspondent, she covered South and Central America for six years. Now based in Washington DC, Patrícia covers the White House, American politics, the economy, and current affairs. Her documentary about the 2020 BLM protests and police response, “Curfew in NYC,” received multiple awards, including best short film from New York Film Awards and best director for short films from New York International Film Awards. Patrícia is a jury member of the New York Movie Awards 2022 and served as a Grand Jury member for the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards 2022. In 2021 she won the Professional Excellence Prize Award from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the U.S. Patrícia is a recipient of the Chevening Award, a scholarship funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world. She gained her Master´s in TV Journalism from the University of London.