International Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region Amidst U.S.-China Tensions

Tuesday, November 10, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. EST
via Zoom

The Institute for International Economic Policy was pleased to invite you to the 13th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. The conference took place as a virtual series and was co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research. This event in the series was co-sponsored and hosted by Elliott School of International Affairs Alumni Programs.

Since 2017, trade disputes between the U.S. and China have spiraled into a full blown economic and trade war. U.S. tariff rates on Chinese imports rose from an average 3.1 percent “Most Favored Nation” rate in 2017 to above 20 percent in 2020, covering essentially all imports including both intermediate and consumer goods. China responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from soybeans to electrical equipment and autos. This trade war has rippled throughout the region to affect the countries of the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

This online panel discussion featured two prominent GW alumni working in the Asia-Pacific region: Chris Fussner, CCAS BA ’79, founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, and Frank Wong, ESIA BA ’79, president of Scholastic Asia, based in Hong Kong. Prof. Maggie Chen, professor of economics and international affairs at the George Washington University, moderated the discussion.

Meet the Discussants:

Maggie Chen is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. She has served as Director of GW’s Institute for International Economic Policy and worked as an economist in the research department of the World Bank and a consultant for the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Professor Chen’s research areas include multinational firms, international trade, and regional trade agreements. Her work has been published in academic journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of International Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. She is a co-editor of Economic Inquiry and an associate editor of Economic Modeling.
 

Chris Fussner is founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, a market leader in the sales and distribution of surface mount technology with offices in 9 countries in Asia and 3 countries in North America. Prior to forming TransTechnology in 1988, Mr. Fussner headed Far East Sales for Amistar Corporation based in Seoul, Korea and Singapore, where he was responsible for Sales and Service for electronics manufacturing industry machines in the Pacific, as well as the Western United States. Mr. Fussner started his international career working with relief and refugee resettlement in West Africa and Malaysia. He holds a B.A. in History and Asian Studies from GW, and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He previously served on the board of advisors for GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Frank Wong is President of Scholastic Asia, and based in Hong Kong. Before joining Scholastic Asia as President over 15 years ago, he was Managing Director of PepsiCo’s food business in China and established best practices in sales execution and in-store merchandising. Prior to PepsiCo, Frank Wong spent 5 years with Nabisco, successfully building the company’s international brand identity. Wong also held various marketing positions at Colgate-Palmolive in New York and was co-founder and President of a start-up venture to develop and market special electronic products for the visually impaired around the world. Mr. Wong was born in Hong Kong and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. In addition to his degree from GW, he holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and did advanced studies at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. He is the recipient of the 2015 Alumni Outstanding Service Award from the GW Alumni Association.