D11_046_118January 26, 2015 | 9:30 – 2:30
American University School of International Service
Printable agenda & directions (PDF)

Co-hosted by the AU School of International Service and AU Washington College of Law’s Program on International Organizations, Law and Diplomacy

The event will be streamed live at http://bit.ly/1ExHnX9.

This conference will explore the challenges posed by comprehensive trade and investment treaties such as TPP, CETA, and TTIP, against the background of the multilateral trade regime. Do these treaties replace or complement multilateralism in the WTO framework? The first panel will offer an overview of the various comprehensive trade and investment agreements, their possible convergence, and different geopolitical implication. The second panel will focus on key critical and controversial issues by addressing sectors such as IP, agriculture, and data privacy in FTAs. A keynote lunch will address the challenges of ISDS as a legal mechanism to resolve investment disputes in mega regional trade and investment treaties against the reactions of the WTO.

Agenda

9:30 Short Opening Remarks

  • Michelle Egan, AU SIS
  • Fernanda Nicola, AU WCL
9:45 Panel 1 – Overview of Mega-Regional FTAs: Convergence & Divergence

  • Chair: Michelle Egan, AU SIS
  • Uri Dadush, Carnegie Endowment (multilateralism, bilateralism, mega-regionalism)
  • Pek Koon Heng, AU SIS (TPP, RCEP, FTAAP)
  • Roberto G. Peña, EU Delegation (TTIP)
  • Colin Bird, Embassy of Canada (CETA)
12:00 Keynote Luncheon

  • Introduction: Aluisio Lima-Campos, AU WCL
  • Jennifer Hillman, Georgetown Law (ISDS)
1:00 Panel 2 – Sectoral Approaches across FTAs

  • Chair: Simon Lester, Cato Institute
  • Sean Flynn, AU WCL (IP)
  • Alasdair Young, Georgia Tech (Agriculture, GMOs)
  • Joshua Meltzer, Brookings Institution (Data Privacy, Data Flow)
2:30 Close