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The United States’ lack of involvement in the increasingly integrated economic development of East Asia may have a profound effect on American producers, consumers, and overall U.S. economic growth. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are embracing integrated economic regimes through bilateral trade agreements and the formation of regional multilateral architecture. China has raced to sign a host of free trade agreements, most notably with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while Japan has proposed a pan-Asian economic partnership agreement. The United States, however, has shown little interest in these attempts at integration, and current domestic politics threaten further withdrawal from the free trade movement. With more than $2 trillion in trade with Asia, can America afford to ignore the transformation in East Asia’s economic environment?

At this AEI event, Christopher A. Padilla, under secretary for international trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, will deliver a keynote address. Following that, Eric Altbach of the National Bureau of Asian Research, AEI’s Michael Auslin and Claude Barfield, Karan Bhatia of General Electric, and Edward Gresser of the Progressive Policy Institute will discuss economic development and integration in East Asia, as well as their effects on the U.S. economy.

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