International Trade and Economic Equity

Catalog description

In this seminar, students will have the opportunity to study both the theory and policy, and a series of key case studies, addressing the relationship between international trade and economic inequality. The seminar will work on elaborating a law and policy framework for incorporating considerations of the impact of international trade on workers, their families and their communities, both in the U.S. and internationally. Examples include: mechanisms for addressing labor violations in U.S.-Mexico trade and for closing the U.S.-Mexico wage gap; U.S. trade regulations banning imports made with forced labor; U.S. and international law regulating agricultural subsidies in the global North and their impact on developing-country exports; the expansion of "national security" as a basis for economic protectionism; the use of “fair trade” consumer monitoring to develop market-based policy; and a consideration of race and gender as social categories historically shaping participation in international markets. This course will satisfy the research requirement. Students will be responsible for presenting materials in class, and for preparing an end-of-semester memorandum on a specific case study.