Watch or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Former Trade Negotiators Discuss This Week’s Tariff and Trade Developments.
No one understands the dynamics with key U.S. trading partners better than the people who led these kinds of difficult trade negotiations for the United States. Panelists will update our viewers on the trade policy announcements, what remains undone; and what are expected next steps in these trade negotiations.
In the latest episode of the Friday Exchange, our trade insiders break down the shifting landscape of U.S. tariff policy and the new Section 301 investigations announced by the Trump Administration. The panel explores whether the administration’s flurry of new Section 301 investigations targeting excess capacity across 16 countries and expanding forced labor concerns represents a strategic “wink wink, nudge nudge” plan B to rebuild the tariff framework and reopen negotiations with trading partners. The conversation also looks at cautious reactions from Asia and Europe, the delicate balance of stabilizing tariffs with China while scrutinizing other partners for unfair trade practices, and how these investigations could serve double as opportunities to refine tariff levels, and shape the next phase of U.S. trade policy ahead of the upcoming U.S.–China summit.
Featured Speakers:
Introduction: Kenneth Levinson, CEO, WITA – The International Trade Membership Association
Peter Harrell, Visiting Scholar, Georgetown Institute for International Economic Law; former Senior Director, International Economics, at the White House under President Biden
Daniel Mullaney, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East
Mark Linscott, Senior Advisor at the Asia Group and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum; former Assistant USTR for South and Central Asia and before that WTO and Multilateral Affairs