Dr. Judy Shelton is the US Executive Director for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She accepted the nomination for this position after a number of years as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy and Senior Fellow at the Atlas Network.
Dr. Shelton has long been an advocate for monetary system reform which is something we watch for here. While the world is now focused on the trade dispute taking place between China and the US, Dr. Shelton recently offered this comment on her twitter feed suggesting that perhaps this might be the right time to think about "a new international monetary system". In her comment, she refers to this recent article appearing in The Wall Street Journal.
Naturally, this comment from Dr. Shelton caught our attention so we reached out to her to see if she would like to offer some additional insight on it. She kindly agreed to a brief Q&A interview to provide some expanded thoughts on the subject. Below are her comments on the potential for monetary system reform offered for readers here.
Dr. Shelton being sworn in as US Director for the EBRD by Secretary Mnuchin
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Q: The world is focused right now on what some are calling a "Trade War" between the US and China. What would it take to achieve a "win-win" solution and how do you see the prospects for that outcome?
A: It is not a "Trade War" so much as an intense, behind-the-curtain focus on what has truly been happening with regard to having reciprocal access to the markets available in both countries and addressing the lack of a level playing field. Free trade is a wonderful concept and can be most beneficial to all participants--but it requires that there be no barriers to entry, no artificial constraints that prevent potential consumers from making voluntary choices, no forced sharing of competitive technology. So far it seems to me that the U.S. has the advantage in asking China and other trading partners to abide by both the spirit and the letter of free trade. Our willingness to go beyond mere rhetoric on this point underscores our commitment to the ideal.
