Ep. 39 – WITA’s Friday Exchange:: I Know it When I See it: Tariff “Gerrymandering” and Taxing Comparative Advantage

04/17/2026

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WITA

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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 unpack the administration’s evolving trade strategy from IEEPA tariffs, to new 122, 232 and 301 tariffs.  Our trade experts also discuss new rules for calculating steel and aluminum tariffs on things like whipped cream, beer and autos, and are the new tariffs driving up costs and confusion for manufacturers?  Our speakers also discuss new pharmaceutical tariffs, and what does “excess capacity” actually mean? Or is it like what Potter Stewart said about pornography: “I know it when I see it”?

Featured Speakers:

Introduction: Kenneth Levinson, CEO, WITA – The International Trade Association

Ed Gresser, Vice President & Director for Trade & Global Markets, Progressive Policy Institute; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics – author of the Trade Fact of the Week

Kate Kalutkiewicz, Senior Managing Director, McLarty Associates; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade, National Economic Council, in the first Trump Administration

Dawn Shackleford, President at Looking Glass Trade, LLC; former Executive Director for Trade Agreements Policy & Negotiations, Department of Commerce; former Assistant USTR for WTO & Multilateral Affairs

Joe Damond, Non-resident Senior Associate at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Southeast Asia program; former Deputy Assistant USTR for Asia