AUWCL’s XIV Symposium on International Trade Discusses the Crisis Facing the World Trade System
October 24, 2018
On Oct. 24, American University Washington College of Law and the ABCI Institute presented the XIV Symposium on International Trade.
The annual symposium, “Rule-based World Trade System Under Systematic Crisis,” opened with welcoming remarks by ABCI Institute Chairman and AUWCL Adjunct Professor Aluisio de Lima-Campos and introductory remarks by Ambassador of Brazil H. E. Sérgio Amaral.
The symposium is “very timely,” Amaral said, “because we are in the midst of a trade war, which we don’t know how long it may last, we don’t know whether it may escalate – it’s a worrisome scenario, and I hope we can avoid it. Behind the scenes, what’s at stake is the multilateral system. This is a very bad prospect, but I think there are ways we can avoid that, and I think this seminar is about this exact issue. ”
The symposium included four separate panels on key topics revolving around the trade system crisis, including “Section 232 and Repercussions,” “USMCA Outlook,” and “WTO Reform.”
AUWCL Professor Padideh Ala’i, director of the International Legal Studies Program, moderated the opening panel, “Trade Outlook: The View from Governments," which featured remarks and discussion from Minister-Counsellor Fernando Pimental, Embassy of Brazil; Minister-Counsellor Guillermo Malpica Soto, Embassy of Mexico; Counselor David Wilkens, Economic Affairs, Embassy of Germany; and Trade Commissioner Matias Ignacio Pinto Pimentel, Embassy of Chile.
The event was presented with support of the Embassy of Brazil, the Program on Trade, Investment & Development, the International Trade and Investment Law Society, the Brazil Industries Coalition, and the Brazil-U.S. Business Council.