Trade, Job Churn, and the American Worker May 28, 2008

Host: Hudson Institute. Trade has become an electoral piñata. In a time of stagnant wages, economic insecurity and a globalized economy, Democratic presidential candidates have jockeyed with each other to be the most critical of NAFTA and other trade agreements. Conflict between President Bush and congressional Democrats over the Colombia trade accord has resulted in the demise of the “fast-track” arrangements that have governed U.S. trade policy for decades. Meanwhile, this summer Congress will need to re-authorize one of the main safety nets for trade-displaced workers, Trade Adjustment Assistance, which Senators Clinton and Obama wish to expand and which Senator McCain believes should be restructured.
With the post-war bipartisan consensus on trade fraying, Hudson Institute is bringing together two panels of experts to explore the public anxiety over trade and job churn, the roles of trade and technology in the dynamic U.S. economy, the impact of trade policy, and the opportunities for helping American workers prosper in an increasingly globalized, knowledge-based economy.
The first panel will focus on the effect of trade and technology on the U.S. economy and opportunities for American workers. It will feature Robert Shapiro, Chairman of Sonecon, former Under Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration, and author of “Futurecast”; Philip Levy Resident Scholar with the American Enterprise Institute and former Council of Economic Advisors economist; and Michael Moore, Director for George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy and former Council of Economic Advisors trade economist. The panel will be moderated by Rod Hunter, Hudson Senior Fellow and former National Security Council Senior Director.
The second panel will focus on how to enhance opportunities for American workers. It will feature James McKenny, Director of Economic Development at the American Association of Community Colleges, and Howard Rosen, Resident Visiting Fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and will be moderated by Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Director of Hudson’s Center on Employment Policy and former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor.
The conference will conclude with a keynote address by Edward Lazear, the Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Chairman Lazear will deliver an address entitled “The U.S. Economy and Decoupling.”

Official Website: http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=hudson_upcoming_events&id=563