Interview with Shannon O’Neil

Filippo Gaddo, Managing Director at MAP and SPE member, held a discussion with Shannon O’Neil, Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and most recently author of The Globalisation Myth where she argues that regionalization, not globalization, has been the biggest economic trend of the last forty years.

In the interview, Shannon and Filippo discuss the recent trends in trade patterns and whether the current mainstream narrative of ‘De-Globalisation’, ‘Slowbalisation’  (a term coined by the IMF recently) are correct or are they missing part of the picture. Shannon first explains that globalisation was probably a bit of a misnomer as the real engine behind the growth in trade over the past 40 years has been the intra-regional trade, especially in the three big Regions of North America, Europe and (East) Asia. The slowdown in trade (and Shannon rightly points out that the plateau we see is at historically high levels) therefore may be more about changes in inter-regional trade and as a consequence we may not experience a reversal as the intraregional component remain strong. Filippo and Shannon also delve more on the nature and sources of trade within those regions and highlight that the European experience is more based around institutions, which are limited in North America region – more focused on lowering barriers – and Asia – where the trade is driven more by companies and supply chain patterns. The conversation then covers the other regions, which are left out, Africa and Latin America in particular, and considers the prospects for trade and potential free trade agreements. Inevitably we close the interview with a view on US elections and trade implications.
 
Shannon K. O’Neil is the vice president, deputy director of studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller senior fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is an expert on global trade, supply chains, Mexico, Latin America, and democracy. Dr O’Neil is the author of The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter, which chronicles the rise of three main global manufacturing and supply chain hubs and what they mean for U.S. economic competitiveness. She also wrote Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead, which analyzes the political, economic, and social transformations Mexico has undergone over the last three decades and why they matter for the United States. She is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, and a frequent guest on national broadcast news and radio programs. Dr. O’Neil has often testified before Congress, and regularly speaks at global academic, business, and policy conferences.

You can  watch the video by clicking on below or you can listen to this and other recent interviews via the SPE podcast page. You can find us on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

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