The Urgent Riddle:
TRADE &
THE CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE
A GBD Members' Lunch
12 Noon to 1:30 P.M.on
Friday, March 28, 2014, at The National Press Club,
529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
Things have gone from bad to worse since Ukraine's then-President Victor Yanukovych publicly turned his back on the pending Association Agreement with the EU. That was on November 21, 2013. Now, following Sunday's hastily called referendum, the Crimea will soon to be absorbed by Russia; the U.S. and the EU are implementing sanctions; and no one knows where it will end. Still, the business of life goes on and businesses must plan. Against that background, we will devote this next GBD members' lunch to a roundtable discussion of the trade and commercial elements that are in play in this crisis -- from the WTO issues that have been facing the Ukraine for some time, to the implications of the sanctions that now seem imminent.
In this session, we exepect to draw on the expertise of everyone who comes. Among those who have already agreed to participate are:
Terence Stewart of Stewart and Stewart. Terry Stewart did a great deal of work on the Ukraine's WTO accession.
David J. Levine of McDermott Will & Emery. David's special focus is compliance, which in this case means dealing with the U.S. and EU sanctions.
Isabel Pastor Arenillas from the EU Delegation in Washington will be there.
Randi Levinas of the U.S.-Russia Business Council will be there as well.
Joanne Thornton of Policy Connections International has looked at some of the changes already evident in U.S.-Russian trade, not from the crisis the Ukraine but from the relatively recent developments in U.S. production of oil and gas.
As for the ground rules, this is not a public event, and there will be no press. However, to the extent that speakers are comfortable with having GBD share some of the fruits of this session more broadly, we will try to do that.
Registration. You are a GBD Member. You should be there. To sign up, just click the link below and follow the prompts.