Center for Commerce and Diplomacy Highlights

Dear UC San Diego,

This has been an extraordinary year for the Center for Commerce and Diplomacy (CCD). Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made a significant impact on the world of global economic policy by harnessing our growing network of scholars and practitioners. Our focus on providing access to high-quality research and fora for academic, policy and business leaders to strengthen institutions of international cooperation, has never been more relevant.

CCD researchers and affiliates found themselves at the heart of pressing policy discussions, including the reform of the World Trade Organization, new trade agreements, climate change policies and small business recovery from the pandemic. We remained fully committed to our fundamental role as a convener of leading minds and featured prominent speakers, including Andrew Michael Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, and Jeff Immelt, former CEO of General Electric.

On a personal note, I am extremely excited to announce that I have accepted an invitation to serve in the Biden Administration for one year as Senior Economist on the Council of Economic Advisers. In this capacity, I will be providing economic expertise to the Office of the President, focusing on international economic matters and coordinating with other agencies including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, National Security Council and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

In my absence, Lawrence Broz will serve as the Interim Center Director, with the assistance of Fabienne Perlov, our new Project Director. We are very fortunate to have Fabienne join our team as she brings a wealth of experience in diplomacy. She will be a critical agent of CCD’s continued growth.

I am grateful for everyone who has supported the Center’s vital mission during this year. I look forward to creating more opportunities to bridge the worlds of policymaking, academia and business to create a more peaceful and prosperous world.

With appreciation,

Renee

RESEARCH

CCD researchers and affiliates continue to produce groundbreaking research that sheds light on institutions that sustain global cooperation.

In new work, Renee Bowen, Lawrence Broz and Marc Muendler demonstrate that World Trade Organization rulings in trade disputes have a significant effect on U.S. presidential elections, leading to more votes for Republican candidates. Using a novel construction of data measuring U.S. county exposure to trade dispute losses, this is the first study of its kind to make a direct link between an international institution and domestic politics.

In "Trade Policy Transitions: Three Eras of US Trade Policy," Renee Bowen, Lawrence Broz and Peter Rosendorff model the political-economy forces that generated a shift from pre-war protectionism, to post-war multilateralism, and to the current return to protectionism. Looking at data from 1860 to the present, they show that the transition to openness was facilitated by a growing U.S. capital stock and increased social transfers. Changes in the international distribution of capital combined with slow growth of transfers since the mid-1990s are major factors in the return to protectionism.

Yoo Sun Jung, a postdoctoral fellow at CCD, focuses on the effect of the legalization of international institutions on the power dynamics between rich and developing countries. Using the example of the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism, she shows that a strong dispute settlement mechanism can benefit poorer countries.

Joining us in the fall are two new postdoctoral fellows, Minju Kim and Haishi “Harry” Li, from the University of Chicago. Kim’s innovative research shows that political sustainability of globalization depends on institutions providing optimal career incentives for bureaucrats. Li's co-authored work showed that Brazilian anti-dumping policies increased employment by 0.04%, GDP by 0.04%, but decreased welfare by 0.09%.

ACTIVITIES

The launch of our flagship conference, "What Future for the Global Trading System?" was a huge success featuring over 60 top experts in business, policy and academia addressing trade challenges and resulting in five concrete takeaways for policymakers.

Through our Global Leaders Forum, we continued to bring world leaders to UC San Diego, including the Most Honourable Andrew Michael Holness ON, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica, who emphasized that many developing countries face the most harm from climate change, yet have contributed the least to it. He stressed the need for more green funding for developing countries, particularly for facilitation to adapt to climate change strategies.

Our second Global Leaders Forum featured Jeffrey Immelt, former CEO of General Electric, who spoke on manufacturing and global supply chains. While trade wars have disrupted supply chains and domestic opposition to globalization have risen, Immelt provided fresh insights into what lies ahead for the manufacturing sector and what the government can do to address the policy challenges.

On behalf of the GPS student-led Strategic Studies Group, the center hosted a fireside chat with Michael Greenwald, director at Tiedemann Advisors and former United States Treasury Attache to Qatar and Kuwait. The discussion centered around Greenwald’s recent publication “The Future of the United States Dollar: Weaponizing the US Financial System.”

This year our Political Economy Lunch Group (PELG) seminar series featured 14 leading scholars in economics and politics who presented new research from across the globe. Click here for the 2020-2021 calendar and list of speakers.

NETWORK

In the past year, the number of senior fellows and scholars affiliated with the center has expanded significantly. Their expertise on international trade, political economy, digitization and investment uncertainty has advanced our research on globalization and expanded our network.

Senior Fellows

Charles Dallara is the current director of the Bank of Nova Scotia, director of the Middle East Investment Initiative and chairman of the Americas for Partners Group. During his residency, he shared his perspective on international finance and economic policy.

Kati Suominen is founder and CEO of Nextrade Group and is a global thought leader in trade, development and digitization. She has published over 100 articles and her 10th book, “Revolutionizing World Trade: How Disruptive Technologies Open Opportunities for All,” was published in 2019.

New Affiliated Faculty

Samuel Bazzi is an associate professor at GPS whose research lies at the intersection of development economics and political economy, with a focus on how individuals and nations adapt to the challenges of diversity in a global world.

David Fortunato is an associate professor at GPS who studies how policymaking institutions structure decisions made by both governments and voters. He is the author of a recent book, “The Cycle of Coalition: How Parties and Voters Interact under Coalition Governance.”

Kyle Handley is an associate professor who holds the Rafael and Marina Pastor Chancellor's Endowed GPS Faculty Fellowship. He is an economist who specializes in international trade, investment, uncertainty and firm employment dynamics. In a recent paper, he examined the trade policy uncertainty in shaping the import decisions of firms.

Greg Horowitt is the director of Innovation Design at the UC San Diego Office of Innovation and Commercialization. He is the co-founder and managing director of T2 Venture Creation and has spent more than 25 years working in startups and venture capital. He is the co-author of the bestselling book “The Rainforest: The secret to building the Next Silicon Valley.”

Center for Commerce and Diplomacy

UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

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