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Mark R. Kennedy

Strategic Competition: Economic

Trade and Industrial Policy

Policy Focus

Balance the need for industrial policy necessary to secure vital supply chains and market interventions to blunt distortions by strategic competitors with maximizing mutually beneficial trade.

Featured Media

360° VIEW OF NEW TARIFFS ON CHINA

WILSON CENTER 360° VIEW - MAY 16, 2024

360° VIEW OF OUTBOUND INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE ORDER

WILSON CENTER 360° VIEW - AUGUST 15, 2023

LOOKING ANEW AT TRADE

INTERACTIVE PROFILE IN WILSON QUARTERLY - FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Events and Publications

Bridging the Transatlantic Divide in Norm-Setting Around digital Economies

Roundtable Conversation in Geneva, Switzerland - September 11, 2024
A collaboration between the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung - Geneva and the Wilson Center's Wahba Institute on the margins of the WTO Public Forum.

Equitable Green Trade: Strategies for Inclusive Carbon Pricing and Environmental Policies

WTO Public Forum Panel in Geneva, Switzerland - September 10, 2024
Panel co-sponsored by the Wahba Institute and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Highlights regarding EU and US CBAM Approaches: Convergences and Differences

KEITH ROCKWELL REPORT ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN WAHBA INSTITUTE AND GERMANY'S KONRAD ADENAUER FOUNDATION - AUGUST 14, 2024
With the European Union proceeding with a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the Wilson Center's Wahba Institute in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung engaged with seven US House / Senate offices to explore how US CBAM proposals compare and contrast.

DESPITE TARIFFS, CHINESE EV MAKERS STILL MAKE INROADS

QUOTED IN VOA ARTICLE - AUGUST 1, 2024

360° VIEW OF NEW TARIFFS ON CHINA

WILSON CENTER 360° VIEW OF NEW TARIFFS ON CHINA - MAY 16, 2024

INVESTMENT AND TRADE AGREEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO DE-RISKING CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAINS

WILSON CENTER POLICY BRIEF WITH DR. JEFF KUCIK - APRIL 30, 2024

PRESERVING MARKET DYNAMISM WHILE BLUNTING MARKET DISTORTIONS

GUEST LECTURE TO CLASS OF GEORGETOWN PROFESSOR DR. NITA RUDRA - APRIL 9, 2024

FIRESIDE CHAT WITH SENATOR PAT TOOMEY

ECONOMIC CLUB OF MINNESOTA CHAMPION OF FREE TRADE EVENT - MARCH 19, 2024
Moderated discussion on trade with Senator Toomey on the state of global trade.

WILL THE NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

WILSON CENTER SMART TAKE - MARCH 1, 2024

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES | THE WILSON CANADA-US LEGAL ISSUES SYMPOSIUM

INTRODUCER -WILSON CENTER EVENT - NOVEMBER 6, 2023

TEN REASONS WHY THE US SHOULD RENEW AGOA

WILSON CENTER POLICY BRIEF - NOV 2, 2023

SPEECH: HOW GEOPOLITICAL EVENTS ARE IMPACTING GLOBALIZATION

USCIB FOUNDATION EVENT - OCTOBER 25, 2023

EXPLORING ART OF POSSIBLE IN TRADE WITH KEITH ROCKWELL

WILSON CENTER INTERVIEW - OCTOBER 5, 2023

360° VIEW OF OUTBOUND INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE ORDER

WILSON CENTER POLICY BRIEF - AUGUST 15, 2023

REACTING TO, AND TAKING ISSUE WITH, TAI’S ‘MAJOR SPEECH’

WORLD TRADE ONLINE ARTICLE - JUNE 22, 2023
“Now is not the time for sliding down slippery slopes in a race to the protectionist bottom. Rather than shards of truths, today’s strategic competition demands a clear-eyed view and dedicated effort to open markets for American products and services so that all workers not only prosper, but remain secure.”

SPEECH: PATH FORWARD FOR USMCA

SPEECH TO HOPE BINATIONAL FELLOWSHIP - MAY 24, 2023

SPEECH - ECONOMIC WARFARE

FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION'S GREAT DECISIONS PROGRAMS - MARCH 20, 2023

SPEECH: THE CONTEMPORARY U.S. ECONOMY

STATE DEPARTMENT INTERNATIONAL VISITORS PROGRAM - MARCH 1, 2023

TECHNOLOGY RESTRICTIONS MUST BE PAIRED WITH PROMOTING TRADE

CONTRIBUTIONS TO WILSON CENTER PUBLICATION - MOMENTS OF CLARITY - FEBRUARY 8, 2023
Technology restrictions only succeed in tandem with other advanced economies. As restrictions bifurcate markets, America will lose foreign consumers unless it embraces trade.

US-CHINA TWO-WAY TRADE ROSE IN 2022, NEW DATA SHOW

QUOTED IN VOICE OF AMERICA ARTICLE - FEBRUARY 8, 2023
“There has not been a broad-based decoupling … and many economists are seeing that there really hasn't been a significant onshoring or reshoring. There are still strong ties, and to break those ties with China would be both difficult and costly.”

SUCCEEDING IN STRATEGIC COMPETITION IS TODAY’S IMPERATIVE

OP-ED IN THE HILL WITH SADEK WAHBA - FEBRUARY 6 2023

DEFINING AMERICA'S NEW PLAYBOOK

FORWARD IN WILSON QUARTERLY - FEBRUARY 2, 2023
"Finding the right balance between markets and intervention is key. Close collaboration with allies is also vital. America faces a peer rival: China. Only in tandem with its allies can the US achieve the scale to sustain the international order and deter aggression."

LOOKING ANEW AT TRADE

INTERACTIVE PROFILE IN WILSON QUARTERLY - FEBRUARY 2, 2023
"The result of America's inward turn is to step aside as other nations negotiate preferential access and define the terms to trade, sacrificing the jobs that go with that trade and the influence that comes from the associated interactions. Perhaps no other nation has benefited more from America's trade resistance than China."

STRATEGIC COMPETITION CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING TRADE IN THE AMERICAS

OP-ED IN THE HILL, JANUARY 21, 2023
Narrowing in to understand the trade relationships between China and strategic sectors in the Western Hemisphere should be a fundamental task for [the China select] committee and the 118th Congress to undertake. Ideally, this would lead to actionable results providing tangible economic opportunities for the U.S. and its partners in the region.

AT DAVOS, EU LEADERS BRISTLE OVER GREEN SUBSIDIES IN IRA

QUOTED IN NATIONAL JOURNAL - JANUARY 19, 2023
“It will be interesting to see what the final Treasury regulations are able to do, but many believe this is going to require a legislative fix,” Kennedy said. “The accommodations that are so far in the Treasury ruling are not of great significance related to the concerns the European community has.” Kennedy argued that Washington should have negotiated with all its major industrial partners before passing such a sweeping piece of legislation. “Climate concern is a global concern,” he added. “Having a more coordinated approach to it, as opposed to something that moves down a protectionist path, is more likely to achieve the climate objectives in an efficient manner.”

AWARDING AMB. JON HUNTSMAN CHAMPION OF FREE TRADE AWARD

ECONOMIC CLUB OF MINNESOTA - MARCH 8, 2022
As Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Economic Club of Minnesota, I helped establish the Bill Frenzel Champion of Free Trade Award to promote the importance of expanded trade.

MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

SPEECH: WORLD TRADE CENTER DENVER - WORLD TRADE DAY - MAY 21, 2021
"As the most significant player in the digital space, America has the most to gain or lose, but ironically, at exactly the worse time to do so, we opted to sit on the sidelines and complain as we continue to watch the rest of the world define the rules for us.

PREVENTING A GLOBAL TRADE WAR: IS IT TOO LATE?

PANEL - G1 GLOBAL CONFERENCE IN TOKYO - OCTOBER 14, 2018