Global Trade: War or Peace?

Since the 1980s at least, the question of whether growing international trade more helps or hurts the US economy, has been a raging debate in national politics.

After campaigning vigorously against his predecessors' records on trade, the Trump administration has canceled prospective trade deals and sought to re-negotiate previous ones. Meanwhile, retaliatory tariffs have been imposed by both the US and China, and the future of global trade is increasingly uncertain.

Do free trade agreements work and how does the US benefit from them? Should the US continue its long-standing tradition of free trade and, if so, how can we ensure that the intellectual property rights of American businesses and the prospects for American workers are protected? Particularly, what will happen regarding US trade with Mexico and China?

The 16th United States Trade Representative (2009–2013),  Ron Kirk, will address these and other related questions.