Joel D. Hirst discusses how the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) has taken shape in the six years since its creation.

Walter Russell Mead discusses fundamental changes in China's labor force.

Newspaper and magazine stories refer to a "loss of nerve", even a "loss of faith" in free trade by economists. When presidential candidates are challenged by free trade proponents, they typically say: "Ah, but economists no longer have a consensus on free trade." But the truth of the matter is that free trade is alive. The analytical arguments in favor of trade have hardly been dented by its critics, such as Alan Blinder, arrayed against it.

The WTO talks between the G-4 nations—Brazil, India, the United States and the European Union—have collapsed yet again, and the U.S.'s inability to respond to long-standing, world-wide demands for the reduction of its (and the EU's) agricultural subsidies are mostly to blame, argue Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya.

To date, Chinese officials have asserted that their interest in Gwadar is strictly a commercial effort to provide another energy corridor for Middle East oil, and Pakistani government officials stridently affirm this position. New Delhi, on the other hand, has expressed "concern" about the true motivations in developing Gwadar, suspecting that it is a Sino-Pak effort at encirclement.

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A U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could provide a significant boost to U.S. jobs, growth and trade. Conversely, the primary pitfall to the agreement would be if it caused a retreat from multilateralism, divert trade trom emerging markets and weaken institutions such as the World Trade Organization.

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Bernard K. Gordon, professor emeritus of political science at the University of New Hampshire, leads a discussion on the ongoing negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ambassador Carlos Gianelli Derois and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein discuss the challenges that governments face in balancing international trade and tobacco control objectives and the increasing number of trade disputes involving tobacco control that have arisen under bilateral investment treaties (BIT) and at the WTO.

This meeting is part of the Global Health, Economics, and Development Roundtable Series, which provides a forum for U.S. policymakers, academics, and other prominent experts to evaluate the most pressing health and development challenges afflicting low- and middle-income countries. The series explores best practices and potential solutions from the field's leading thinkers and serves to educate and engage CFR's influential membership.

Matthew J. Slaughter, CFR's adjunct senior fellow for business and globalization, and William F. Owens, senior fellow at University of Denver's Institute for Public Policy Studies and former governor of Colorado, discuss the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Trade and Investment Policy.

Task Force members discuss the findings of the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force Report on U.S. Trade and Investment Policy, and make recommendations for future international trade policies.

Experts discuss the findings and recommendations of the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Trade and Investment Policy.

Before President Obama goes before Congress to outline his new proposals on job creation, listen to CFR's Edward Alden and A. Michael Spence discuss the challenges facing the U.S. economy and options for future job growth.

Nancy Birdsall and Susan Schwab discuss the implications of trade policy on international development.

The Foreign Affairs LIVE series brings together authors, CFR members, and friends of the magazine for timely, in-depth discussions on significant global issues.

Experts discuss the effects of the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy on the foreign currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and express concern over future currency wars.

This event was part of the McKinsey Executive Roundtable Series in International Economics.