Vietnam has become the newest "Asian tiger." The US played a leading role in negotiating Vietnam's January 2007 entry into the World Trade Organization and the 2001 US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement. Requirements in these treaties have accelerated the pace of economic and legal policy reforms in Vietnam. Combined with other initiatives, the reforms are giving rise to the domestic institutions, economic policies, governing procedures, and rule of law needed to grow a market economy, facilitate the fledgling private sector, and rationalize the state sector. US foreign assistance has been intensively involved in this effort. The effects of these changes have been felt in faster growth, increased trade, more foreign and domestic investment, and continued poverty alleviation. Within this context, the seminar can address an especially difficult and complex question: How might these reforms, and the changes they have foster, affect the political development of the country?

Steve Parker recently returned from nearly six years in Vietnam, where he served as the project manager for the STAR-Vietnam Project--the first major USAID-funded technical assistance program in post-war Vietnam. In that context he worked with the prime minister's office in Hanoi to help more than forty government agencies make the changes needed for Vietnam to implement the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and accede to the World Trade Organization. His latest writing is a "Report on the 5-Year Impact of the BTA on Vietnam's Trade, Investment and Economic Structure." Previously he worked as an economic specialist for the US government and the Asia Foundation, and was posted to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan with USAID, the Asian Development Bank, and the Harvard Institute for International Development.

Co-sponsored with the Stanford Center for International Development.

Weitseng Chen, a Fulbright scholar, will receive his JSD from Yale Law School in October 2007. His recent research focuses on China's foreign direct investment and property rights transition, the economic behaviors of ethnic foreign investors in China, and a China-Taiwan comparison on their rule of law transition. Prior to his Yale education, Chen practiced law in Taiwan in diverse fields such as Internet and information technology industry, the private sector and public interest affairs, governmental reforms, and international NGO affairs.

Weitseng Chen's recent publications include "East Asian Model and Rule of Law (with Randall Peerenboom, a to be published book chapter)", "WTO: Time's Up for Chinese Banks - China's Banking Reform and Non-Performing Loans Disposal" (Chicago Journal of International Law), "State, Market, and the Law: Law and Development in Taiwan" (Chinese) (Journal of the Humanities & Social Science), and a book titled Law and Economic Miracle: Interaction between Taiwan's Economic Development and Economic & Trade Laws after WWII. (Chinese).

European Political Systems Seminar

Session I: Analytical Frameworks for Studying Farm Policy Reform

Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College

Discussant: Christophe Crombez, University of Leuven and Stanford University

Session II: The Evidence of a Hallian Paradigm Shift in Farm Policy

Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University

Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech

Session III: Experience with Farm Policy Reform, 1990-1995

Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University (GATT/WTO: UR up to Heysel, 1990)

Discussant: Stephen Tangermann, University of Gottingen; Lee Ann Patterson, UCSF

Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (US 1990 Farm Bill)

Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech

Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University (Blair House, 1992-1993 and URAA, 1994)

Discussant: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (EU 1992 CAP Reform)

Session IV: Farm Policy Reform, 1996-2000

Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (US 1996 Fair Act)

Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech

Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (EU Agenda 2000)

Discussant: Stefan Tangermann, University of Gottingen; John Gillingham, University of Missouri

Session V: Future of Farm Policy Reform

Speaker; Tim Josling, Stanford University (WTO 2000 Round)

Speaker: David Orden, Virginia Tech (US Farm Policy Futures)

Speaker: Stefan Tangermann, University of Gottingen (CAP Reform Possibilities)

Discussant: All

Session I: The World Banana Market

Speaker: Tom Spreen, University of Florida

Discussant: Micky Paggi, Congressional Budget Office

"The World Banana Market"

Session II: Bananas and the EU

Speaker: Stephan Tangermann, University of Gottingen

Discussant: Jo Swinnen, Leuven and EU Commission

"Bananas and the EU"

Session III: Bananas and Multinationals

Speaker: Tim Taylor and Xavier Abufele, University of Florida

Discussant: Micky Paggi, Congressional Budget Office

"Bananas and Multinationals"

Session IV: Bananas and the Caribbean

Speaker: Tim Taylor, University of Florida; Patrick Antoine, RNM, Barbados

Discussant: John Stovall, NCFAP, Washington

"Bananas and the Carribbean"

Session V: Bananas and the WTO

Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University

Discussant: Stephan Tangermann, University of Gottingen

"Bananas and the WTO"

Session VI: Lessons for Trade Policy

Session VII: Group discussion about the completion and publication of the book "Going Bananas"

In the debates surrounding genetically modified organisms in the food supply, the issue of labeling has become ever more salient. The EU is developing regulations to require labeling and traceability for all foods containing or derived from GMOs. Other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and Thailand are also in the process of developing voluntary labeling guidelines. In January of 2000, 130 countries adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety which calls for bulk shipments of GMO commodities, such as corn or soybeans that are intended to be used as food, feed or for processing, to be accompanied by documentation stating that such shipments "may contain" living modified organisms and are "not intended for intentional introduction into the environment." Will these labeling systems prevent trade disruptions and enhance the international trading system established by the WTO? Or will they act as non-tariff barriers that obfuscate consumer decisions and lead to greater expense, confusion and ultimately to new trade wars?

Any GMO labeling debate must take into consideration the political, economic, legal, operational and administrative aspects of such labeling. The political considerations include the maintenance of confidence in the food system and how policy makers balance the demands of domestic constituencies against their various international obligations, such as under WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. The economic questions focus on a cost/benefit analysis of segregation and identity-preservation and whether labels provide information or capture a premium for producers. The legal issues include the possible challenge of discrimination in trade and the extent of liability under domestic law for misleading or incorrect labels. Operational adn administrative questions center on whether to make labels mandatory, whether to take a product or process approach, how feasible and costly are particular approaches and whether it is necessary it is necessary to require full traceability.

The workshop will be hosted by the European Forum of the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. The goal of the workshop is to make a significant contribution to the ongoing policy debate. Participants will include academic, government and private sector specialists and bring expertise in economics, law and political science.

The conference will explore the application of competition policy rules to aspects of the "new" economy, in particular where networks and information flows are leading to rapid changes in industrial structure. Both US and European views will be represented, and the prospects for avoiding further tensions in transatlantic relations over different approaches will be explored. The focus will be on four sectors that are currently undergoing structural changes through mergers and which have posed questions for transatlantic cooperation and for antitrust regulations; telecoms and internet access; e-commerce and internet marketplaces; airlines and code-sharing; and biotechnology and genomics. These same issues are also likely to be significant in global discussions of competition policy in the WTO and elsewhere.

The conference will bring together academic economists, lawyers and political scientists from the US and Europe along with invited private sector and government participants. To ensure the opportunity for intensive discussion, attendance will be limited to thirty people.