At the Center on Inclusive Trade and Development, we are continuing Georgetown's legacy as a leader in international trade law by building a first-of-its-kind, interdisciplinary research hub.
Our scholars and students are developing innovative, inclusive approaches to the challenges facing the global trading system today.
This December, CITD Co-Director Katrin Kuhlmann presented her research at the WTO's Trade Congress on Gender: Gender Equality for Sustainable Trade and Recovery. The three-day event was the first of its kind, featuring top researchers and their ground-breaking analysis of the relationship between trade and inclusivity. With 82 of the world's top gender and trade researchers presenting across 15 sessions to nearly 1,000 participants, the Congress laid the groundwork for innovative global solutions to the 21st century's unprecedented challenges. Georgetown Law's Kuhlmann presented her paper Gender Mainstreaming in Trade Agreements: "A Potemkin Facade"?, co-authored with Amrita Bahri, in addition to hosting CITD and the DisAbled Women's Network of Canada's joint discussion, "Making Trade Agreements Work for People with Disabilities."
In her recent conversation with the Friends of Multilateralism Group, Jennifer Hillman discussed recent major developments in US trade policy since 2018, and the transition of trade priorities from the Trump administration to that of President Biden. Hillman then described the US move to an initiatives-centric economic policy, especially with regards to international trade. Several key shifts in perceptions around US trade policy will shape the outcome of WTO trade efforts.
Our third “Erasing the And” focused on the relationship between trade and social inclusion. Although trade is not primarily to blame for rising inequality and social conflict, it is not wholly innocent either. International trade law plays a powerful role in fomenting the conditions under which people thrive, implicating social equality and inclusion. The impacts of trade and rapid technological change on income inequality and the security of work have become politically salient issues in the United States and Europe, challenging the international trade legal order. Social inclusion is an issue in developing economies as well, where issues of equity drive trade debates within and between nations. This talk and discussion addressed how international trade law can and should be retooled to support social inclusion worldwide, despite a brief interruption by the fire alarm.
Our scholars and students are developing innovative, inclusive approaches to the challenges facing the global trading system today.