Topic: Pivot and Partnership: Examination of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the US Asian Strategy
Date: 5:30 pm til 7:30 pm
Venue: United States Studies Centre, Institute Building (H03), City Road, The University of Sydney
Cost: Free

Mr. Gresser is one of the country’s best-known and most influential trade policy scholars, having conducted path-breaking research on the American tariff system and its effects on low-income American families and developing countries, international trade agreements, trade relations with the Muslim world, Asian economic integration and other topics. In 2013, the Washington International Trade Association- honored him with its sixth Lighthouse Award, a recognition presented to an individual each year since 2008 to recognize "contributions made over the course of a career to trade policy, the understanding of global trade, or expanding the benefits of global trade."

Mr. Gresser most recently served as Director of the Trade and Global Markets program and as interim President of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Prior to joining the DLC, Mr. Gresser was Trade and Global Markets Director for the Progressive Policy Institute and served as Policy Advisor to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. Mr. Gresser twice received the USTR’s prestigious “Special Achievement Award” for contribution to the passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Caribbean Basin Initiative enhancement, and for accomplishments “far above and beyond the call of duty” in negotiation of China’s WTO accession agreement and passage of Permanent Normal Trade Relations.

Early in his career, Mr. Gresser served as Legislative Assistant and then Policy Director for Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), with responsibility for trade and foreign policy issues, focusing particularly on relations with China, as well as domestic extremism and “militia” issues. Mr. Gresser’s research has been covered by major publications and new outlets including the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times and Far Eastern Economic Review, and has been cited in publications by the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the IMF and other institutions. His first book, Freedom from Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy, was published in 2007. He also created Progressive Economy’s widely praised “Trade Fact of the Week” electronic information service.

Mr. Gresser holds an M.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.