Brad Setser

Abstract:

How is the United States doing in its economic competition with China? Is it really a competition between the two “blocs” of the U.S. and China? The reality is more complicated, and it will affect the ability of the U.S. to negotiate an agreement between the two countries that serves our economic interests. One of Washington’s top trade experts, Dr. Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations, believes that the world economy is becoming more – not less – globalized. And it is becoming more dependent on the supply of Chinese goods. Dr. Setser has monitored China’s trade closely; he will explain its massive trade surplus with the rest of the world and offer views on how U.S. policies can most effectively compete. Dr. Setser has been a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative, helping solve our country’s trade disputes, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department, and an official of the National Security Council. Come join us for what promises to be a stimulating and informative discussion.

Bio:

Brad W. Setser is the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His expertise includes global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring. He regularly blogs at Follow the Money. Setser served as a senior advisor to the United States Trade Representative from 2021 to 2022, where he worked on the  resolution of a number of trade disputes. He had previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for international economic analysis in the U.S. Treasury from 2011 to 2015, where he worked on Europe’s financial crisis, currency policy, financial sanctions, commodity shocks, and Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, and as a director for international economics on the staff of the National Economic Council and the National Security Council.

He is the author of Sovereign Wealth and Sovereign Power and the coauthor, with Nouriel Roubini, of Bailouts and Bail-ins: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies. His work has been published in Foreign Affairs, Finance and Development, and Global Governance, among others. Setser was a senior fellow at CFR from 2016 to 2020. He also has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund. He holds a BA from Harvard University, a masters from Sciences-Po Paris, and an MA and PhD from Oxford University.