Speakers

• Jesús Seade, Under Secretary for North America, Ministry Foreign Affairs of Mexico
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas

A candidate for Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ambassador Jesús Seade Kuri offered wide-ranging comments on global trade at the 2020 Washington Conference on the Americas. He was introduced by COA's Eric Farnsworth and a video message from former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Alec Watson.

Seade, who served as a chief negotiator for Mexico for the updated North American trade agreement that went into effect July 1, spoke of the danger to the United States, China, and other countries if the WTO is allowed to become irrelevant. He argued that the WTO should be playing an important role in educating the global public about the benefits of trade, and that the new director general must have the expertise, relationships, and negotiating skills to play the role of honest broker among countries, build trust, and coordinate efforts that lead to real results in the trade arena, including in fields such as digital trade. Seade also stressed the need for more attention to private sector interests, both in terms of encouraging multilateral companies to expand trade and opening space for small- and medium-sized enterprises to participate in global trade.

• Learn more about the Washington Conference of the Americas.

Participantes:

• Ana Claudina Garcia, Directora Jurídica y de Asuntos Públicos, American Tower México
• Diana Gómez Herman, Directora de Sector Público, Microsoft México
• Sylvia Varela, Presidenta y Directora General, AstraZeneca México
• Juan Pablo Spinetto, Director Editorial de Economía y Gobierno en Latino América, Bloomberg (moderador)

Las participantes del evento “Resiliencia, Ambición y Mujeres en STEM” destacaron varios temas sobre la representación equitativa de género en sus empresas y las indústrias STEM en general, relatando experiencias proprias en sus carreras que las hayan sacado adelante como mujeres de posiciones altas ejecutivas, desde mentores, hasta éticas de trabajo. Ana Claudia Garcia de American Tower habló sobre la representación en las telecomunicaciones, y que es "muy importante trabajar en políticas públicas que sean medibles y permanentes" para combatir la idea que las mujeres no pertenecen en el sector. Diana Gómez Herman de Microsoft destacó también la meta de su empresa para empoderar a las mujeres, y sobre la importancia de tener cantidad y variedad de programas, y de alguna manera poderlos medir para ver avanzes". Sylvia Varela de AstraZeneca resaltó que dentro del discurso que la mujer sea más incluida dentro de una organización, pero que se nos olvida la segunda parte, sobre el hecho que las compañias más diversas son las más que tienen más ganancias, es decir, combinar los dos ejes es importante.

(Interview starts at 40:49).

Eric Farnsworth, vice president of AS/COA, spoke to Bloomberg TV's Shery Ahn about Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Farnsworth emphasized that both leaders met during a complicated time for bilateral and global relations, but the reason they met is because USMCA went into force on July 1.

"This is an opportunity for both leaders to really celebrate that achievement," Farnsworth said. "It is something to celebrate. But...coming in the midst of not just a pandemic, but also the beginning of the U.S. presidential campaign, complicates the politics around this moment."

Farnsworth said that both López Obrador and Trump have something to gain and something to lose. "What they have to gain is to show that they can put politics aside and pragmatism can prevail, that they can do business together at the national level—whether it’s economics and trade or other activities as well. There is some concern on the Mexican side of the border that the president of Mexico not be seen as supporting one U.S. presidential candidate or another. From the U.S. president side, there’s always the temptation, perhaps, to demonize Mexico, and doing so during this particular visit, I think, would be counterproductive," said Farnsworth.