Event Summary
The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), the Embassy of Mexico, and the McKinsey Global Institute will cohost a conference to discuss how NAFTA has benefited Mexico and the United States. Gary Clyde Hufbauer will deliver the keynote address, presenting a new PIIE Policy Brief, NAFTA at 20: Misleading Charges and Positive Achievements. Conference participants will present new research challenging the false claims and exaggerations about NAFTA’s harms on the 20th anniversary of the agreement’s signing.
Agenda
9:00 am
Opening: The Economic and Symbolic Importance of NAFTA
Host: Adam S. Posen, PIIE
9:15 am
Panel I: Mexico’s Progress—Growth and Prosperity in a Two-speed Economy
Presenter:
Jaana Remes, McKinsey Global Institute presentation [PDF]
Discussants:
Santiago Levy, Inter-American Development Bank
Angel Ubide, PIIE and D. E. Shaw presentation [PDF]
10:45 am
Panel II: American Manufacturing—The Growth since NAFTA
Presenter:
Lindsay Oldenski, PIIE and Georgetown University presentation [PDF]
Discussants:
Manuel Balmaseda, CEMEX
Christian Volpe Martincus, Inter-American Development Bank presentation [PDF]
12:30 pm
Luncheon Presentation: A Fair Assessment of NAFTA at 20
Presenter:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, PIIE presentation [PDF]
Discussants:
Douglas Bell, United States Trade Representative
José De Gregorio, former Governor of the Central Bank of Chile
Raymond Robertson, Macalester College presentation [PDF]
2:00 pm
Panel III: Economic Integration for Mexico and the United States after NAFTA
Presenters:
Barbara Kotschwar, PIIE presentation [PDF]
Jeffrey J. Schott, PIIE presentation [PDF]
Antonio Ortiz Mena, Embassy of Mexico
2:45 pm
Closing Panel: A Vision for North American Economic Integration
Presenters:
Mack McLarty, McLarty Associates
Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora
Adam S. Posen, PIIE
Event Materials
Presentations
Christian Volpe Martincus [PDF]
View interview video with Gary Clyde Hufbauer previewing the conference, discussing the achievements, disappointments, and distortions surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement.