Report on the event US-China Economic & Trade Relationship, with Jamieson Greer and Emily De La Bruyère

On August 5, the Sciences Po American Foundation hosted the first installment of the Alumni Webinar Series, US-China Economic & Trade Relationship: An insight from Jamieson Greer in conversation with Emily de la Bruyère. Jamieson Greer is a partner in the International Trade team at King & Spalding. His practice covers trade policy, trade remedy litigation, export controls, economic sanctions, CFIUS, customs and import compliance, and supply chain matters. Emily de La Bruyère is a co-founder of Horizon Advisory. She has led extensive China research programs and developed novel analysis tools and techniques. 

Greer, who described his time at Sciences Po as “very formative for me, personally and professionally,” began his remarks with a basic history of U.S.-China trade relations and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Fast forwarding to today, Greer described tariffs imposed on over half of goods coming from China and lawmakers calling for sanctions against Chinese officials and companies. Greer clarified the notion of unfair trade practices, describing subsidies, government-mandated overcapacity, and China’s failure to internalize some of the costs of its almost unregulated environmental and labor regimes. The Phase One trade deal established in January, however, offers some optimism for the future of the U.S.-China trade relationship. The trade deal’s enforcement mechanism has been successful in maintaining a good working relationship between the two nations. 

In discussion with Emily de la Bruyère, Greer discussed the dynamics of the current trade deal, emergent technologies, mechanisms for addressing trade in a multilateral fashion, and potential changes under a Biden administration. Greer explained his response to frequent questions about the strength of the deal, stating that the officials involved in negotiations “were personally invested in the development of the agreement, and so it shouldn't really come as a surprise to folks that they are also personally invested in its success.” Asked about the perspective of Europe and France in particular, Greer described how “the United States and France are actually in a close position on how they view trade, the benefits of trade, and its challenges.” For a potential Biden administration after the upcoming U.S. election, Greer believed the former Vice President is in a challenging position given his historic support for open trade with China and the current bipartisan skepticism toward China as a trading partner. 

Closing remarks from Alexandre Chenesseau highlighted several important takeaways from the webinar. Chenesseau stressed the importance of the historical context for recent trade discussions. He emphasized that although tensions and contradictions still exist, the fact that the trade deal has opened dialogue between the most senior officials in the United States and China is a crucial point of stability. Critically, especially for technology, he reminded viewers of the importance of global standards, with every nation taking part in the conversation. 

Following the success of US-China Economic & Trade Relationship, the Foundation is thrilled to welcome Alumnus Mike Schmuhl, Pete Buttigieg's campaign manager for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, to discuss the 2020 election with Celia Belin from Brookings. The webinar will take place on August 26 at 12:30PM EST, and we hope to see you there! RSVP here.

Watch the webinar US-China Economic & Trade Relationship