USC Marshall School of Business

On Feb. 24, the U.S and California APEC 2011 host committees sponsored a multi-faceted event held at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. USC Marshall's Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) took a lead role, hosting two events featuring discussions with Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats.

Hormats was in California to discuss the 21-economy Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit process this year, which culminates in a heads-of-state meeting in Honolulu in November. His luncheon presentation,"The Future of Asia Pacific Relations," highlighted his department's efforts to expand U.S. trade within the region, including supporting the passage of the Korea-U.S Free Trade Agreement in the near future.

Following Hormats' presentation,CIBER Director Richard Drobnick convened a roundtable discussion for the Under Secretary with leaders of the investment community, advocacy leaders, business journalists and scholars from USC, UCLA, and RAND who specialize in global trade and supply chain issues, sustainability and environmental issues.

Participants offered academic and private sector perspectives to the State Department on issues that might affect the quality of U.S. trade relations and the success of American businesses in the Pacific Rim. The discussion spanned from green technology investment to collaboration between Chinese and American companies. The Under Secretary, echoing recent comments made by President Obama, captured the urgency of the economic challenges driven by globalization: "This is our Sputnik moment, but today Sputniks are coming at us from every direction."

The roundtable also focused on retaining global talent. Foreign undergraduate and graduate students are being educated at America's most prestigious universities, yet current visa policies do not allow foreign nationals to extend their stay in the U.S. beyond 29 months after graduation. American-educated students are learning skills at U.S. universities and from the nation's top companies and subsequently returning to their home countries to start businesses that directly compete with American companies, according to participants in the roundtable discussion.

The February meeting was a precursor to USC Marshall's Asia Pacific Business Outlook conference later this month on March 28-29 www.apboconference.com, which will feature U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. The conference will be webcast and open to the public at www.apboconference.com/webcast

More information about APEC 2011 can be found at: http://www.calapec2011.org/