WAGE Outreach Business

The Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) sponsors a number of events to help Wisconsin’s international business community compete in the global economy. Under the auspices of our International Trade Partnership, we provide a regular forum for professionals to learn about practical issues, new trends, and the larger context of engaging in international trade. On campus and off through special events and our Speakers Bureau, we bring together faculty and business people to explore questions at the core of international business and world affairs. WAGE regularly co-sponsors regional and trade conferences related to international business and we proudly support the Governor’s successful overseas trade missions. WAGE also offers continuing legal education credit (CLE) for Wisconsin lawyers interested in the practice of international law.

According to the featured speakers at “Uncertainties in Mexico: Update for Wisconsin Companies,” held on June 16, 2009, at the Fluno Center for Executive Education in Madison, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) eased the way for U.S. companies to increase trade with and investment in Mexico, but concerns about drug-related violence remain.

On May 14, 2009, UW-Madison partnered with Northcentral Technical College and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to deliver the first in a series of in-depth workshops for northern Wisconsin businesses on increasing profits through export opportunities. “Navigating the Global Marketplace: Opportunities for Northern Wisconsin Business” was held at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. CIBER and the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) are leading the university’s participation in this effort.

The Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) and its campus partner, the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), together with international area studies centers, have received a grant for their proposal "Growing Wisconsin Business Globally: International Business Workshops for Wisconsin Businesses." The proposal will be funded under the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea project, with additional funding from CIBER, the Division of International Studies, and other campus units.

In the midst of the worst recession since World War II, U.S. businesses and consumers face uncharted economic conditions in 2009. On January 14, 2009 WAGE and its campus partner CIBER, together with the Madison International Trade Association (MITA), sponsored a luncheon program about what these challenges mean for Midwestern firms.

On November 20th WAGE convened a panel of distinguished UW-Madison professors who offered different perspectives on the causes, consequences, and potential solutions for the global economic crisis. Experts from economics, business, law, public affairs, and political science provided insight into the following questions: How did a crisis in the

U.S.

housing market grow into a full blown global economic crisis? What do these events mean for the global economy, governments, businesses and average people around the world? How might we evaluate proposed solutions here and abroad? View the presentations.

Prominent national experts from the financial and policy communities drew an audience of nearly 70 representatives of Wisconsin businesses and state financial organizations at a May 1, 2008 conference held at UW-Madison’s Fluno Center for Executive Education. The half-day conference provided business leaders and other attendees with timely information on important issues in international finance. Panelists discussed findings from current research on topics including: Will the U.S. trade deficit shrink? Will the value of the dollar continue to fall? What are the global implications of the U.S. financial distress? And, how do these issues affect Midwest firms competing in the global marketplace?

On June 19, 2007, environmental policy in the European Union took center stage at a workshop organized by the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) and the European Union Center of Excellence (EUCE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The workshop brought together representatives of academia, business, civil society, and international organizations for a discussion of new forms of governance and regulation in the European Union and their promise for meeting environmental challenges within an atmosphere of tight government budgets and competitive business practices. Practitioners and policymakers from the United States closed the day with a roundtable panel that summarized the lessons of the European experience and called for application of innovative techniques in the

U.S.

context. The workshop formed part of the annual conference of the Multi-State Working Group (MSWG) on Environmental Performance, a group that aims to promote collaborative approaches to environmental protection, sustainability, and social responsibility.

Global Biological Threats
On April 7, 2006, over 200 public health, business, university, and government officials gathered together at the Global Biological Threats Symposium to learn about the origins, risks, and possible solutions demanded by emerging biological threats, such as bioterrorism, Avian influenza, and SARS. The symposium featured speakers from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, the USDA, Southcentral Wisconsin Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Consortium, and from multiple disciplines at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

The Impact of International Trade Agreements on Wisconsin
State legislators, faculty from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, government officials and members of Wisconsin’s legal community came together to hear Professor Jose Alvarez (Columbia Law School) speak on NAFTA’s investment rules, their judicial application, and their impact on the United States, including Wisconsin state government.

Environmental Law in a Connected World
More than 300 environmentalists, policy-makers and business representatives from seven countries and eight states came together in a rare three-way exchange to explore innovative environmental policies and practices.

Currencies in Crisis: Managing Your Financial Risk
Will China revalue the renminbi? Would a revaluation actually help Midwest manufacturers? Nearly 70 Wisconsin business leaders learned about options for shaping business strategies amid volatile foreign currency fluctuations.

Doing Business with China: Opportunities and Challenges under WTO
Some 120 business people attended this half-day workshop, which explored the implications of China's recent entry into the World Trade Organization and what it may mean for U.S. companies doing business with China.

Global Marketing Research Panel Discussion
This event brought together a large group of business representatives at the Fluno Center for Executive Education in Madison to hear international business experts analyze current trends in global marketing research.

Europe in Focus: Opportunities in an Enlarged Europe?
Speakers from business and legal backgrounds provided an overview of the opportunities and challenges that European enlargement creates for U.S. business at this event held at the Fluno Center for Executive Education in Madison.

Biotechnology and Transatlantic Relations
Former U.S. Ambassador to the OECD and U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, David L. Aaron, explained how biotechnology is reshaping our world and leading to clashes between both the regulatory and value systems of both Europe and the United States.

The partnership is a collaboration among the academic, state government and business communities in southern Wisconsin to enhance the competitiveness of Wisconsin companies on a global scale, to prepare future leaders for the global marketplace, and to build alliances between the university and business communities.