Cato Event Podcast

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Featuring Maia Szalavitz (@maiasz), Award-Winning Neuroscience Journalist; and Author of Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction; Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, (@DrLeanaWen) Visiting Professor of Health Policy and Management, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University; and Distinguished Fellow, Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity; moderated by Jeffrey A. Singer, MD, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute.Related Content: Americans Have Always Politicized Public Health Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic cost tens of thousands of lives and capsized the U.S. economy, relations between Beijing and Washington were heading south. Tougher domestic repression, greater aggressiveness toward Hong Kong, enhanced pressure on Taiwan, and increased assertiveness in Asia-Pacific waters have unsettled American policymakers and allied nations in East Asia.China’s poor response to the COVID-19 virus, especially the regime’s lack of transparency and punishment of doctors and journalists warning about the pandemic, inflamed political and public sentiment against Beijing.Now the Trump administration appears determined to turn China’s poor response into a campaign issue. Joe Biden’s campaign has responded in kind. Republican legislators are even pushing to “make China pay,” proposing to strip Beijing of sovereign immunity to lawsuits and repudiate U.S. Treasury debt held by China. The result could be a race to the bottom in relations. Even the trade deal, which the administration celebrated in mid-January as the virus began spreading, is now at risk.Can the bilateral relationship survive the coming presidential campaign? More broadly, where should the relationship go? Is Beijing’s authoritarian direction likely permanent, or is a reversal of policy possible in Beijing once Xi Jinping no longer rules? Should the United States shift to a policy of containment and seek to isolate China by severing economic ties and emphasizing military responses? How would Washington’s East Asian allies, economically dependent on China, respond to such an approach?Related Content: Congress and COVID-19: Is Remote Legislating and Oversight Possible? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is due to go into force on July 1, 2020, but much work remains to prepare for the transition from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules. In all likelihood, both agreements will operate in parallel until important details are ironed out. Most pressing among these are new rules for automobile manufacturing in North America, where the requirements have become more stringent. Mexico will also have to deal with a potential surge of labor disputes as the new labor chapter goes into effect. Compounding all of this is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted supply chains and weakened trading relationships around the world. Can the USMCA be successfully implemented this year, and can North America move forward from the pandemic stronger than before?Related Content: Dispute Settlement and the US-UK Trade Agreement: Lessons from the NAFTA Renegotiation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.