The Future of Trans-Pacific Trade
VIEW EVENT DETAILSLuncheon Discussion
Registration: 12:15 pm
Luncheon: 12:30 pm
Close: 2:15 pm
Ministers participating in the latest round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement last month failed to reach the common ground needed to conclude the agreement — an agreement three years in the making, with 29 or so complex chapters, involving the nations of Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Peru, Chile, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Vietnam. What's next for this effort? Meanwhile, other Trans-Pacific economic integration and liberalization initiatives — from APEC to numerous bilateral and multilateral agreements — offer great opportunities but also create a complicated web of efforts. Our panel will discuss their perspectives on these various Trans-Pacific trade efforts, the stakes for the global economy at large, and the benefits and challenges for various parties involved in the negotiations.
Stephen Bird is Chief Executive Officer of Citi Asia Pacific, responsible for all the company's business lines across 17 markets in the region from Korea in the North to Australia in the South, including China and India. He is a member of the Citi Global Operating Committee. Mr. Bird was previously joint CEO of Citi Asia Pacific with responsibility for North Asia. Mr. Bird joined Citi in 1998 in Singapore as the Asia Pacific Head for Operations & Technology. Prior to Citi, Mr. Bird held senior management positions in GE Capital and British Steel in the United Kingdom. He also serves on the Board of Asia Trustees of the Asia Society. Citi is a Founding Member of the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Josette Sheeran is the seventh President and CEO of the Asia Society, and is responsible for leading the organization's work throughout the US and Asia, and across its disciplines of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. She is former Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum. Prior to this, Ms. Sheeran was Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. She has also held senior positions in the U.S. government, including as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, and as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. In 2011, Forbes named Ms. Sheeran the world's 30th most powerful woman.
Patrick Low is Vice President of Research and Senior Fellow at the Fung Global Institute. Previously he worked at the WTO Secretariat, including serving as its Chief Economist from 1997 until 2013. From 1999 to 2001 he also served as Chief of Staff to WTO Director-General Mike Moore. He was a Senior Economist in the research complex at the World Bank from 1990 to 1994, working primarily on trade policy. Prior to this he taught at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City, from 1988 to 1990. During this period he also acted as consultant to several governments and international agencies. Mr. Low worked at the GATT Secretariat from 1980 to 1987.