Event

Free Trade: Principles, Myths, Prospects

While the United States has a 70-year history of free trade, not everyone agrees that the benefits outweigh the costs. The debate on free trade has been brought to center stage with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a watershed moment which will decide where the US and major countries around the world go next with trade.

Please join the Mercatus Center at George Mason University on October 6 for the inaugural event of the Program on American Economy and Globalization hosted by Mercatus Scholars and Co-Directors Donald J. Boudreaux and Daniel Griswold. The keynote speech will be given by Douglas Irwin of Dartmouth College and author of Free Trade Under Fire.

The panel discussion will focus on Congress and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, identifying areas of agreement and opportunities to strengthen the existing proposal to benefit economies around the world. Distinguished panelists include Linda Dempsey of the National Association of Manufacturers, Ed Gerwin of the Progressive Policy Institute, and Edward Gresser, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics.

The event will address long-standing questions about free trade, such as:

—How does trade affect manufacturing?
—What does an $800 billion trade deficit mean and does it matter?
—How do small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from trade?
—Why is free trade important to middle class Americans?
—What have been the effects of trade agreements? Is NAFTA, and other agreements like it, a disaster or a success?
—What are the geo-strategic effects of trade; is trade important to diplomacy and safety?
—This event will be interactive and have Q&A during each session. The first 70 attendees will receive a copy of Free Trade Under Fire (4th ed.) by keynote speaker Douglas Irwin.

Lunch will be provided.