MetalMiner's Trade Policy Conference Confirms Speakers From Fed, D&B, PWC, Others

As we continue to plan our March 1 conference, International Trade Policy Breaking Point, we’ve been aligning speakers from all sorts of backgrounds to weigh in on what’s working and what’s not in the current sphere of international trade laws and policies.

What does the Fed see as the main trade policy issues? Where do steel companies like Nucor stand on international trade? And how do consulting firms see the current climate shaping up?

The speakers representing these organizations have varied areas of expertise, and, inevitably, different viewpoints on the health and well being of international trade today. We’re confident that our creation of a unique atmosphere for conversation will spur enlightening questions and, hopefully, some enlightening answers by putting these great minds together in one room.

William A. Strauss has been the Senior Economist and Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for nearly thirty years. He produces the monthly Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index and organizes the Bank’s Economic Outlook and Automotive Outlook Symposiums. He’s an award-winning professor who teaches at DePaul and the University of Chicago, and he’s written extensively on topics including the manufacturing sector, the trade-weighted dollar and business cycles. Strauss will be a part of the morning’s Expert Panel, debating public policy trends.

As a representative of Nucor Steel, Jennifer Diggins will shed light on the manufacturers’ point of view. Diggins works in corporate public affairs for the North Carolina-based company, and has more than a decade of experience in Washington, D.C., with stints for AISI and for Congressman Rob Simmons, serving as his director of operations. Diggins will also take part in the Expert Panel on public policy.

From a management-consulting standpoint, Daniel McGroarty brings the goods. He is principal and founder of Carmot Strategic Group, a DC-based firm, and a senior advisor to the US Chamber of Commerce’s International Division. His positions are as diverse as his writings McGroarty served as George H.W. Bush’s speechwriter, has penned books such as “Break These Chains: The Battle for School Choice on the issue of school vouchers, and has been published by numerous newspapers and he has consulted on international, geopolitical issues at the executive level for more than a decade. McGroarty will have his hand in our scenario-planning workshop, exploring how manufactures can minimize risk in this trade environment.

More to come as the conference continues shaping up!

–Taras Berezowsky