Event Recording: US-Asia Relations in the Biden Administration

About the event:
The Trump presidency has had a consequential impact on the United States’ international relations and its role in international institutions. Hallmarks of President Trump’s Asia policy included labeling China as a hostile power, abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership, using trade sanctions even against allies such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea, and dallying with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Professors José E. Alvarez and Nilufer Oral will discuss the impact Trump has had on U.S.-Asia relations and the constraints President Biden will face as he tries to strengthen ties with key Asian allies and partners while maintaining pressure on China.

Further reading:

• International Law in a Biden Administration by José E. Alvarez published by New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (JILP)

• What Will President Biden Mean for US-China Relations? by José E. Alvarez in USALI Perspectives

Additional materials:

• Partial List of Trump Administration Sanctions Against China in 2020-2021

• 2018 Report to Congress On China’s WTO Compliance

About the Speakers:
José Alvarez is the Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law and faculty director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. He teaches courses on international law, foreign investment, and international organizations. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International and the Council on Foreign Relations and is the former president of the American Society of International Law as well as former co-editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law. Recent books include The Impact of International Organizations on International Law (2017) and The Boundaries of Investment Arbitration (2018).

Nilufer Oral is director of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore, a member of the United Nations International Law Commission, and co-chair of its Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law. She has served as a legal advisor to the Turkish Foreign Ministry for the law of the sea and as a climate change negotiator. She is a distinguished fellow of the Law of the Sea Institute at Berkeley Law. She served on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Council (2012-2016). She has published numerous articles and edited several books.