Global Nashville with Karl Dean

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China with John Scannapieco

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Recorded: October 10, 2019

Talking about China: “This is complicated and in the sound-bite world we live in no one does it justice.” – John Scannapieco

Today former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will be talking with John Scannapieco about China-US relations. John is an attorney and leads the Global Business Team at Baker Donelson in Nashville. John has over 20-years experience working with businesses in China and with Chinese businesses working in America.

On the day we sat down to talk about U.S.-China commercial relations we’re waiting to hear about progress in talks between Washington and Beijing to end a now 15-month bitter trade war.

So, how did we get here?

It starts with the 2016 presidential campaign and candidate Trump’s promise to do something about China’s unfair trade practices. From the campaign trail he said China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization opened the door to the “greatest job theft in history.”

In 2017, as president, Mr. Trump ordered a review of the U.S. trade deficit and tighter tariff enforcement as well. In his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping he agreed to a 100-day plan for trade talks.

When those talks failed to produce results – reducing the US trade deficit, Trump ordered a probe into alleged Chinese intellectual property theft – the first direct trade action against China.

By early 2018 the tariff war was on. In the months to come there would be US tariffs on all manner of goods, at all manner of tariff rates and up to billions of dollars in trade.

China kept pace, retaliating with tariffs, some targeted to hurt politically sensitive economic sectors – like soybeans and other US agriculture.

In September 2019 the two sides met for two-days for a productive session. Talks continue but everyone is waiting for a resolution to a trade dispute that has not only shaken US-China business ties but has put the brakes on much of global economic progress.

So, today we’re talking with John Scannapieco, an authority on US-China commercial ties, about the trade war.

As we start off Karl will talk with John about how he came to be a China specialist and what sparked his interest in international issues.

* * *

03:00 Tell us about your background. How did you become involved in global business?
05:11 Was international business your focus in college and law school?
06:32 Tennessee has significant interests in global commercial relations, how did you become involved in work with Chinese businesses?
08:35 How much travel time do you spend on the global business portfolio?
09:20 What is the importance of the US-China business relationship?
10:41 What do Americans want from China in terms of goods?
12:18 What does China want from the United States?
13:25 US-China trade wars. How did it begin? What led us to this point?
15:50 Prior to tariffs last year was it a relatively free bilateral trade relationship?
17:12 China expected to have world’s largest economy, is that right?
18:40 Tell us about the tariff process that is the center of the trade war.
20:34 How are we feeling the tariffs in Tennessee?
21:00 What about the TPP? What was it? What happened to it?
24:35 What was the geo-strategic and political implications of TPP?
25:34 BREAK
28:25 What is the issue with China over Intellectual Property (IP)?
33:01 What are the big issues with China and will they get worked out? Is the deal that the U.S. wants possible?
35:35 What can the U.S. lose in the trade war with China, particularly in Tennessee?
37:39 How do the issues fit into the process of globalization?
39:08 Are walls going up? Are we seeing economic dislocations?
41:15 What does China trade mean to Tennessee — by the numbers?
43:25 What references and resources do you suggest for people who want to know more about U.S.-China relations and the trade war?
46:00 End

* * *

Resources Discussed in the Podcast:

John Scannapieco Bio
https://www.bakerdonelson.com/john-m-scannapieco

US-China Trade War Timeline
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-timeline/timeline-key-dates-in-the-us-china-trade-war-idUSKBN1WP23B

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
https://www.csis.org/web-projects

China Power Web Project (CSIS)
https://chinapower.csis.org

Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI)(CSIS)
https://amti.csis.org

The Trade Guys (Podcast)
https://tradeguys.csis.org

Trade War | Jeremy Goldkorn | SupChina Web Site
https://supchina.com/tag/trade-war/

China Econ Talk
https://supchina.com/series/chinaecontalk/

Trade Talks Podcast
https://www.tradetalkspodcast.com

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