Reconceiving Trade Agreements for Social Inclusion

The current multilateral trading system is under challenge. With the election of President Trump in the United States, and the steady rise of neo-nationalist parties in Europe, the new trade policy mantra is that trade must be made more inclusive. But how is that to be achieved? The traditional trade policy approach to trade and social policy is typically in two steps. In the first step, countries sign international trade agreements to combat protectionist pressures and thereby mutually enhance national welfare. In the second step, recognizing that trade creates “losers” as well as “winners,” countries support those harmed through domestic social policy. This workshop explored whether the traditional approach of calling for countervailing domestic policy is sufficient, and whether trade agreements must be redesigned to integrate, whether directly or indirectly, social policy concerns. It explored and critiqued different ways that this might be done, whether in trade agreements themselves, or in other agreements, so that domestic policy to address social and developmental needs are facilitated.

Workshop Participants

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Irwin I. Cohn Professor of Law
Director, International Tax LLM Program
University of Michigan Law School

Anupam Chander

Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law
Director, California International Law Center
UC Davis School of Law

Harlan G. Cohen

Gabriel M. Wilner/UGA Foundation Professor in International Law
Faculty Co-Director, Dean Rusk International Law Center
University of Georgia School of Law

Keith E. Maskus

Arts and Sciences Professor of Distinction in Economics
University of Colorado Boulder

Timothy Meyer

Professor of Law
Vanderbilt Law School

Sergio Puig

Associate Professor of Law
Director, International Economic Law and Policy Program
The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

Priya Ranjan

Professor of Economics
University of California, Irvine

Kerry Rittich

Professor
Associate Dean, JD Program
University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Professor
University of Toronto Women's and Gender Studies Institute

Gregory Shaffer

Chancellor's Professor of Law
Director, Center on Globalization, Law and Society
University of California, Irvine School of Law

Chantal Thomas

Professor of Law
Director, Clarke Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa
Cornell Law School

David Trubek

Voss-Bascom Professor of Law
Dean, International Studies Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mark Wu

Assistant Professor of Law
Harvard Law School