Join Asia Society Australia at PwC in Sydney for a roundtable luncheon with the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Trade Commission.

Meeting in Australia for the first time, senior trade experts from the United States, Australia, China, Japan and Korea will share their insights on recent developments in international trade and offer recommendations for navigating and bolstering the international and regional trading system. 

This event is by invitation. For other sessions, visit our Upcoming Events page.

About the Commissioners

Wendy Cutler (Chair) is Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. She served for nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, most recently as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative.

Peter Grey was formerly Australian Ambassador to Japan, the European Union, the WTO and APEC as well as being Chief Trade Negotiator. Peter’s current roles include Chairman of MLC Ltd and Co-Chair of the Japan Business Group of Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Kim Jong-Hoon served as South Korea’s Minister for Trade and was the Chief Negotiator of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. A career diplomat, Kim has over 38 years of experience in foreign service and trade issues.

Mari Pangestu served as Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, representing Indonesia in multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade negotiations. She is currently Professor of International Economics at the University of Indonesia.

Yoichi Suzuki is the former Japanese Ambassador to Singapore and has a long experience in international trade negotiations, including serving as Japan’s Chief Negotiator for the recently concluded EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Tu Xinquan is the Executive Dean in the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China. His research covers the WTO, Chinese trade policy, and US-China trade relations.

Why now?

It is a dynamic time for Trade. The past few years have seen the global and regional trade landscape challenged as never before. A growing number of people around the world are questioning the value of trade agreements, holding them accountable for slow wage growth, rising inequalities, and job losses. 

The Trump administration, which has largely shunned multilateralism has stepped up its program of bilateral trade talks (with Korea, Japan, the EU, and the UK underway or on the horizon). Whilst simultaneously engaging in a trade war with China that threatens the upheaval of the global trading order.  

Meanwhile, trading nations across Asia have stepped up their efforts to pursue regional agreements. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – the successor to the TPP – entered into force in December, and is projected to broaden its membership base in the coming year. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) leaders are set to conclude talks this year and efforts to reinvigorate the WTO continue. 

While the two biggest players, the United States and China battle it out over billions of dollars of tariffs, what is the way forward for other trading nations in the region?

Asia Society Australia’s Executive Briefings are a curated series of meetings presented by diplomats, business leaders and subject matter experts from Asia and Australia. Designed to offer a deep dive into the critical issues of the day, to an audience of senior executives from the business, political, educational and cultural institutions that make up the Asia Society network.

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