On February 13, the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy hosted American economist Anne O. Krueger at a Conversations in Public Policy event focused on the economic impact of President Trump’s trade policy. The lecture, attended by about 400 guests, was co-hosted by the Texas A&M Department of Economics and the Private Enterprise Research Center.
Dr. Krueger is the Senior Research Professor of International Economics at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and was previously the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. She also worked at the World Bank as Vice President of Economics and Research as well as at a number of prestigious universities. Her impressive list of publications on economic development, international trade and finance, and economic policy reform are widely consulted and cited.
During Dr. Krueger’s remarks she credited open trade and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as one of the reasons behind the rise in economic development during the post WWII period. She also spoke about the positive economic impact of world integration, the crucial benefits of multilateralism, and the importance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for promoting and regulating trade. She criticized the current administration’s move towards bilateralism and increased reliance on tariffs as being counter-productive to their stated goals. During the conversation portion of the evening, moderated by Dr. Raymond Robertson, Professor Krueger elaborated on the usefulness of the WTO’s role in providing a venue for resolving international trade disputes and noted that the United States has won more disputes there than it has lost. She denounced President Trump’s refusal to approve new WTO appellate judges as contributing to future world instability. She also explained that tariffs do not cure trade deficits due to macroeconomic reasons.
Before the public lecture, Dr. Krueger met with a group of fourteen Bush School students within the International Development and Economic Policy Program to discuss their questions on international economics—including the Argentine debt crisis and the economic success of South Korea. The Mosbacher Institute is very appreciative of all the time Dr. Krueger was willing to give to the Bush School during her visit.
