Home About Articles Interviews, Remarks and Events Contact Me

2017 Interviews, Speeches and Presentations

CSIS •

Beyond Trade: The Costs and Consequences of Exiting NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a free trade agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States in 1993 and came into force on January 1st, 1994.  After more than 23 years of successful economic cooperation, supporting 14 million U.S. jobs and generating $1.2 trillion of commerce each year, the trade agreement is now being renegotiated and faces very tough challenges as the U.S. administration is pursuing major changes, not just a modernization.
CSIS •

Private Sector Engagement in Afghanistan

Private sector development in Afghanistan is a crucial topic for U.S engagement in the region. Between 2002 and 2010, about 57 billion US dollars of official development assistance (ODA) was disbursed to Afghanistan for purposes of reconstruction and development. Less than five percent of the ODA has gone towards private sector development in Afghanistan, with most of the money allocated to infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, and governance.
NASCO •

Tackling North America’s Workforce Challenges, NASCO Conference, Dallas, Texas

As North America strengthens its global competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing and logistics, we are facing significant and growing labor market shortfalls. We share a common challenge, and also a common opportunity, to “up-skill” and grow our next generation of front-line manufacturing and logistics workers by streamlining and harmonizing our approach to standards and training, and to bring maximum value to workforce credentials.
U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association •

Presentation to the U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association – Binational Summit, San Diego, CA

NAFTA 2.0 is a big opportunity for San Diego and the entire U.S.-Mexico border region. From the perspective of the cities and states along the U.S.-Mexico border there are two big objectives: first, do no harm to the massive trade, production and investment networks that support over a million U.S. jobs in the border states; and second, assure that NAFTA 2.0 creates new opportunities for economic growth, more fluid commercial border flows, and steps that will make cross-border production more competitive internationally.
C-SPAN.org •

Discussion Focuses on the Future of Afghanistan at SAIS Johns Hopkins University

Analysts and former ambassadors talked about possible U.S. policy and strategy toward Afghanistan in the upcoming Trump administration. They assessed the current situation in the region, and laid out what they thought were key priorities for the incoming administration to pursue in order to achieve further security, stability and autonomy for Afghanistan’s government and people.

Analysts and former ambassadors talked about possible U.S. policy and strategy toward Afghanistan in the upcoming Tru