“Asia-Pacific Economic Integration Seminar” held in US

June 2016

In June 2016, JETRO held seminars under the theme of “Asia-Pacific Economic Integration” in Washington DC and Los Angeles, in the US.

In the seminar in Washington DC, which was jointly held with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) JETRO Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige made a keynote speech titled “Progress of Asia-Pacific Economic Integration and the Role of the United States and Japan.”

In the following panel session moderated by Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair of the CSIS, perspectives of each country were introduced regarding the “New Developments in Asia-Pacific Economic Integration” by Editorial Writer Yasuhiko Ota at Nihon Keizai Shimbun; Director-General Li Xiangyang of the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Economist Vo Tri Thanh at the Central Institute for Economic Management of Vietnam. In the luncheon session, Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews of the US Department of Commerce delivered an address under the theme of the significance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and the economic relationship between the US, ASEAN countries and Japan.

Prior to the meeting in Washington DC, the meeting in Los Angeles was co-hosted with the USC Marshall School of Business. Following JETRO Chairman Ishige’s keynote speech, Executive Director Nick Vyas of Global Supply Chain Management at the USC Marshall School of Business also gave a keynote speech under the title of “Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Global Supply Chain.”

In the following panel session moderated by Assistant Dean Richard Drobnick at USC Marshall School of Business, the four panelists, Yasuhiko Ota; Counsel Robert Clifton Burns at Bryan Cave; Professor Douglas Joines of Finance and Business Economics at USC Marshall School of Business; and Senior Vice President Perry Moreth at Wells Fargo Bank, each gave their own perspective regarding the impact which the TPP agreement will have on national policies and business.

This is the 12th seminar in Washington DC (11th co-organized with the CSIS) since 2004, and the second seminar in Los Angeles since 2014 which JETRO has held under the theme of economic integration in East Asia.