AAP 2022 Virtual Door Knock Series: The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Trade, and ASEAN

May 31, 2022 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Virtual Event

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REGISTRATION GUIDELINE

Virtual participation only. Please register to receive the Zoom link.

Event Description

The AmChams of Asia Pacific fourth in its 2022 Virtual Door Knock Series will focus on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Trade and ASEAN.

Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri, Singapore Ambassador to the US, will provide his view on the US-ASEAN Special Summit and the evolving engagement between the United States and the region, especially as it related to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

Dr. Deborah Elms, Founder and Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre, will provide her insights on how the IPEF will be incorporated into the existing regional trade architecture.

Ambassador (ret) Rufus Yerxa, former Deputy USTR, will provide the context of how the IPEF will compare to existing US trade agreements.

Any member of any AmCham in the Asia-Pacific region can register.

SPEAKERS

Amb. Ashok Mirpuri

Ambassador of Singapore to the United States

Mr Ashok Kumar Mirpuri took up his appointment as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States of America (USA) in July 2012. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Ambassador to Indonesia from 2006 to 2012, High Commissioner to Malaysia from 2002 to 2006 and High Commissioner to Australia from 2000 to 2002.

A career diplomat, Mr Mirpuri joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1984. In 1994, he was appointed Director of MFA’s Policy Planning & Analysis Directorate I (Southeast Asia). In 1997, Mr Mirpuri was seconded to Shell International Ltd in the United Kingdom as Corporate Advisor (Asia Pacific). He was subsequently assigned to the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta in 1998 as Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission, having previously served in Jakarta as First Secretary (Political).

Mr Mirpuri graduated with an honours degree from the National University of Singapore. He received his MA at the University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies under a Raffles Scholarship. He attended the Programme for Executive Development at the Institute for Management Development, Switzerland, and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, USA.

Dr. Deborah Elms

Founder and Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre

President, Asia Business Trade Association

Dr. Deborah Elms is the Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre (ATC) and the President of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA).

Concurrently, she is a member of APCO’s International Advisory Council, the G20 Trade and Investment Research Network, and the Advisory Board of the Trade and Investment Negotiation Adviser (TINA) at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

Dr. Elms has extensive experience working with governments, international organizations, and businesses and is one of the leading experts on trade policy in the region. She was also active in her past leadership posts in international trade groups having served on the Trade and Investment Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from 2017 to 2019, the International Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA), as well as being the chair of its Working Group on Trade Policy and Law.

Prior to her current role, Dr. Elms was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade and Negotiations and Senior Fellow of International Political Economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Dr. Elms received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Washington, an MA in international relations from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees from Boston University. Dr. Elms frequently appears in the media to provide expert analysis on trade issues in the region and publishes the Talking Trade Blog.

Amb. (ret) Rufus Yerxa

Former Deputy USTR

Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates

Rufus Yerxa has been a prominent figure in international trade policy for more than four decades. He served as Deputy US Trade Representative under two Administrations and spent more than a decade as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has also served in the private sector as a trade lawyer and as head of a leading business association in Washington. His areas of expertise include the functioning of the WTO system and other international agreements, bilateral and regional economic relations, international investment matters and US trade law.

Ambassador Yerxa began his government career as a lawyer with the US International Trade Commission before joining the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means of the US House of Representatives, where he served as Staff Director of its Subcommittee on Trade.

From 1989 to 1995 he served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with the rank of Ambassador, first as head of USTR’s Permanent Mission to the GATT in Geneva under President George H.W. Bush and subsequently as Washington Deputy during the Clinton Administration. He was instrumental in negotiations to replace GATT with the WTO in 1995 and to create the original NAFTA accord (now USMCA).

After leaving government service he practiced law for a major US firm in Brussels. In 2002 he was appointed to serve as Deputy Director General of the WTO. During his long tenure he helped to broaden its membership and strengthen various aspects of its rulemaking function.

From 2016 to 2021, he was President of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), a Washington-based industry association focused on expanding global markets for US companies.

Ambassador Yerxa is a native of Washington State. He holds a BA from the University of Washington, a JD from the Seattle University and an LLB in International Law from the University of Cambridge.

CO-MODERATORS

Steven Okun

Chair, AmChams of Asia-Pacific

Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates

The Founder and CEO of APAC Advisors, Mr. Okun is widely considered a leader on corporate public affairs, sustainability and stakeholder engagement in the Asia Pacific region. He is also the ASEAN representative for the Emerging Market Private Equity Association (EMPEA).

Living and working in Singapore since 2003, Mr. Okun created and led Asia Pacific public affairs for both global investment firm KKR and global logistics firm UPS, as well as being a leader of multiple business chambers and industry associations, including having been elected three times each as Chairman of both the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC). He remains on the boards of both.

As KKR’s first Director of Asia Pacific Public Affairs, Mr. Okun’s responsibilities encompassed government affairs, communications, stakeholder engagement and environmental and social responsibility issues for KKR, as well as in supporting those efforts for its portfolio companies across the region.

In particular, his responsibilities included working on Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) initiatives. Also, he created and led KKR’s impact investing pro bono program, a model for strategic philanthropic engagement for which KKR was awarded the Gold Standard Award for Corporate Citizenship by PublicAffairsAsia.

Mr. Okun led UPS Asia’s public affairs matters on aviation, competition and trade from 2003 until 2010, and before that worked in UPS’ Washington, DC office. He was instrumental in UPS Airlines obtaining it first-ever authority to operate in China in 2001.

Mr. Okun served in the Administration of President Bill Clinton as Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation, being at the Department from 1994 to 1999. For his public service, he was awarded the Secretary’s Award for Special Service Commendation.

He represents and advocates the views of the US business community in Asia, including as a periodic guest host on CNBC. A sought after expert on public affairs, he speaks frequently in the media, at universities, businesses and conferences across the region, as well as is the author of numerous articles.

Mr. Okun received his BA from the University of Virginia and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Shiumei Lin

Vice Chair, AmChams of Asia-Pacific

Vice President, Public Affairs & Sustainability, UPS Asia Pacific Region

Shiumei Lin is Vice President for Public Affairs responsible for policy advocacy, issues management, public-sector collaboration, and sustainability in China, North Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Shiumei is currently Chair of the Customs & Trade Facilitation Committee of the US ASEAN Business Council. She also serves on the boards of Green Freight Asia and Conference of the Asia Pacific Express Carriers (CAPEC). Shiumei is a trade and public policy practitioner with more than 20 years of experience. Prior to joining UPS in 2010, Ms. Lin worked at the Ministry of Trade & Industry and was a member of the APEC policy team during Singapore’s Chairmanship in 2009. She spent more than ten years working on US-Vietnam relations coordinating efforts to gain support for economic normalization in Washington, DC, while facilitating government to government understanding, and assisting US companies on the ground. While living in Hanoi in the late nineties, Ms. Lin designed technical assistance programs for Vietnamese ministries, and advised on issues relating to the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and Vietnam’s WTO accession. She is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University (Master of Arts) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (Bachelor of Arts).

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