Events

Liberty discussion on free trade and protectionism

Samriddhi Foundation will be conducting  Liberty Discussion Series on January 27, 2017 at Gaia Restaurant and Coffee Shop, Thamel at 5:30 – 7:00 pm. The discussion is on ‘Is free trade really free? Why protectionism is alive and well?‘ by Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.

Please find the reader here!

Leaders at the 2009 G20 summit in London — a group representing both developed and developing markets and accounting for 85% of the global economy — pledged they “would not repeat the historic mistakes of protectionism of previous eras.” And over a decade earlier in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established to promote free trade and reduce trade barriers between nations. It now has 162 member countries.

Yet it appears that protectionism is by no means dead, according to Abraham as well as Ann Harrison, a Wharton management professor, and Tarun Khanna, a professor at Harvard Business School and a colleague of Abraham’s on the World Economic Forum Council on Emerging Multinationals. They say that protectionism, while certainly not as overt as it was 50 or 60 years ago, still exists in subtle and varied forms.

Many countries have tried to use protectionism to nurture their home industries — but even though it makes sense in theory, countries screw it up about 75% of the time.

As always, how we roll during the discussion is the same. It is a pre-requisite to read the articles to sit in the discussion. We will begin by hearing from everyone what is his/her favorite line/idea in the whole article. So please highlight your favorite lines as you go through the article.Then we will move on to talk about things you did not like/do not agree with and raise the points you would like to discuss.

As there is a larger pool of invitation going out, the maximum we can accommodate is 12 people. So a confirmation email from your side would help us with the arrangements. If your time allows and you are willing to come to the discussion, please simply write a one-liner and send it to [email protected] or at 9843638830.

We look forward to a lively discussion as always.