WITA's Friday Exchange

About WITA's Friday Exchange

Former Trade Negotiators Discuss This Week’s Tariff and Trade Developments

Publisher

WITA DC

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Jul 2025

Latest episode

6 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

69 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Nov 2026

   Ep. 68: Lashed to the Mast: The Midterms and Tariffs; USMCA, Europe, China and Excess Capacity 301s

   Description: In this week’s episode, our trade insiders unpack the implications of Tuesday’s election for U.S. trade policy, as exit polls show tariffs were front of mind for voters from Maine and Michigan, to Texas and Kansas. The panel weighs what a new Congress could do about tariffs under Section 338 and Section 122, and whether enough Republicans could peel off to override a veto as power ebbs from a lame duck presidency. The insiders also debate what voters rejected, from the steel tariffs that closed a Del Monte peach cannery to what separates a dumb tariff from a smart tariff. The conversation then turns to whether Ambassador Greer can cut deals with Canada and Mexico to get the USMCA revision done; what the current rules of origin mean for auto jobs, and the risk that the Europeans over-interpret the election outcome as increasing their leverage. They close on what may be the administration’s next big decision: how to deal with China vis-à-vis our other trading partners in the context of the structural excess capacity 301 tariffs. Featured Speakers: Ed Gresser, Vice President & Director for Trade & Global Markets, Progressive Policy Institute; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics - author of the Trade Fact of the Week Chris Padilla, Senior Advisor, Brunswick Group; former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Dawn Shackleford, President at Looking Glass Trade, LLC; former Executive Director for Trade Agreements Policy & Negotiations, Department of Commerce; former Assistant USTR for WTO & Multilateral Affairs Stephen Vaughn, Partner, International Trade, King & Spalding LLP; former General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative under first Trump Administration

2. 

   30 Oct 2026

   Ep 67: Zombie 232s, Tariff Frights, Excess Capacity Haunted Houses, and Election Ghosts and Goblins

   On our All Hallows Eve eve podcast, our trade insiders discuss the Brazil election and the looming U.S. midterms, an executive order on robotics and industrial machinery, and Maine tariff treats. They also discuss whether the apparent postponement of the excess capacity Section 301s past the U.S. election is pure politics or if it signals a new approach? The panel weighs tariffs as a political liability tied to affordability and corruption, and what a Democratic Congress might attempt, from limiting the President’s tariff authority to a transparent product exclusion process. The panelists then question whether tariff threats remain credible as unfinished negotiations with India, Vietnam, and Thailand wait on the excess capacity tariffs. With two of our podcasters just back from trips to Japan and Canada, they report on Japanese uneasiness beneath strong economic ties, the U.S.-Canada trade war, possible congressional scrutiny of investment deals, and Costa Rica seeing CPTPP more as a trick than a treat. Featured Speakers: Wendy Cutler, Senior Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Joe Damond, Non-resident Senior Associate at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in their Southeast Asia program; former Deputy Assistant USTR for Asia Kellie Meiman Hock, Senior Counselor, McLarty Associates; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University; Board Member, Inter-American Dialogue; former Director of Brazil and the Southern Cone, Office of the United States Trade Representative Mike Smart, Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors; former Director for International Trade and Investment, National Security Council, The White House; former Trade Counsel, Democratic Staff, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance

3. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Ep 66: Shifting Trade Tectonics: EU on the Defensive; Russia Tariff and Sanctions Waivers; and Tariffs on Trial

   This week, our trade insiders begin with the EU facing up to the scope of its China challenges: Germany’s flip from doves to hawks as the EU bears the brunt of the Chinese manufacturing trade surplus; a Council call to urgently look at new instruments to address the leaky tupperware problem; European skepticism about working with the United States, and what the 301 on excess capacity might signal. They then turn to proposed U.S. rules on outbound investment in biotech; the executive order waiving the tariffs and sanctions mandated in the Lindsey Graham sanctioning Russia law with the U.S. midterms less than two weeks away. They close with the first court challenge to the Section 338 duties on Canada, the 301 forced labor cases at the U.S. Court of International Trade, and whether Congress should (or could) close the Section 338 “loophole.” Featured Speakers: Peter Harrell, Visiting Scholar, Georgetown Institute for International Economic Law; former Senior Director, International Economics, at the White House under President Biden, whose LinkedIn post are much reads for trade nerds. Daniel Mullaney, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East Neena Shenai, Partner, International Trade Investment and Market Access, WilmerHale; former Trade Counsel, House Committee on Ways and Means Dawn Shackleford, President at Looking Glass Trade, LLC; former Executive Director for Trade Agreements Policy & Negotiations, Department of Commerce; former Assistant USTR for WTO & Multilateral Affairs

Who has been a guest on WITA's Friday Exchange

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dawn Shackleford
• Ed Gresser
• Chris Padilla
• Wendy Cutler
• Daniel Mullaney

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Contact WITA's Friday Exchange

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  The Trade Guys

• 

  ChinaTalk

• 

  Pekingology

• 

  The President’s Inbox

• 

  The Foreign Affairs Interview

• 

  ChinaPower

Questions about WITA's Friday Exchange