International trade law expert can discuss Brexit, economic ramifications


LAWRENCE — Great Britain voted to leave the European Union Thursday, setting in motion a process that many predict will have wide-ranging economic outcomes for Britain, Europe and the world. Raj Bhala, associate dean for international and comparative law and Rice Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, is available to speak with media about the exit and its economic outcomes.

Bhala is a world-renowned expert on international trade law. He can discuss Brexit, the immediate economic effects of the vote to leave, how it will affect international trade between Britain, Europe and the world, how Britain’s exit will affect the global economy, implications for the American agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors, and how Brexit is being viewed in emerging, non-Western economies like India and Iran.

“Brexit puts the UK back on standard WTO most favored nation terms relative to the 27 EU members and the rest of the world, including the United States, and also major emerging markets like India and Iran,” Bhala said. “Brexit was the nearly inevitable result of failed political leadership, failed in the sense of making the case — and the case exists — that EU membership benefits the UK beyond financial elites in the city of London.”

Voters in Great Britain decided by a 52 to 48 percent margin to leave the EU, and Prime Minister David Cameron quickly announced plans to resign. The announcement of results led to plunging international stock prices and conversations about allegiances between Great Britain and the United States, Britain’s NATO membership and other concerns. Bhala can discuss all of those topics.

Bhala has a global reputation in the scholarship of international trade law, having lectured around the world and authored the acclaimed two-volume treatise “Modern GATT Law” and recently published the fourth edition of “International Trade Law: An Interdisciplinary, Non-Western Textbook” as well as “Understanding Islamic Law: Shari’a.” His most recent book is “TPP Objectively: Law, Economics and National Security of History’s Largest, Longest Free Trade Agreement.” Bhala practiced international banking law at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before entering academia, and he currently serves as a legal consultant to Cheniere Energy and other prominent organizations and firms. He has worked in more than 25 countries, including England, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand and throughout India.

To schedule an interview, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860 or mkrings@ku.edu.

Editor’s note: Bhala is in Paris, but can speak by phone, Skype or is reachable by email.

Fri, 06/24/2016

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Mike Krings

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