M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: Han-koo Yeo
Monday, January 27, 3:00-4:00pm, L-382 Kahn
The new US administration plans to take a different trajectory of trade policy: away from the multilateral trading system created after WWII by the U.S.
This study group will explore critical questions such as where US trade policy is headed and how it will affect global trading system; how other countries could respond to a new US trade policy; and what is the future of the WTO and the multilateral trading system.
Dr. Michael Beeman, former assistant secretary of USTR in charge of Japan, Korea and APEC and the author of a new book, Walking Out, will join the discussion with Mr. Han-koo Yeo, M-RCBG senior fellow and former Trade Minister of Korea.
This study group / discussion is open to all HUID holders. Registration is not necessary.
M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu

Han-koo Yeo, former trade minister of the Republic of Korea, has been senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics since June 2023. His research focuses on international trade policy, industrial policy, supply chain resilience, and economic security and international trade negotiations including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Yeo completed almost three decades of public service as trade minister of the Republic of Korea in 2022, in the final year of the Moon Jae-in presidency. A veteran international trade negotiator, Yeo has been involved in a number of bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, including as the chief negotiator for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement, Korea–Central America Free Trade Agreement, Korea-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and Korea-Philippines Free Trade Agreement. He was also an original participant in developing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. While serving as commercial attaché at the Korean Embassy in Washington, he was involved in amendment negotiations of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and Section 232 steel negotiations. As Korean minister of trade, he oversaw conventional trade negotiations, export controls, and investment screening. Yeo also led negotiations for Korea's export control measures against Russia in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A graduate of Seoul National University, Yeo has served as visiting professor at the Seoul National University Business School, teaching international trade, negotiation, and economic security issues. Yeo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. Yeo’s research project at the M-RCBG will focus on analyzing how US economic security, trade and industrial policy affects trade patterns, FDI flows, supply chains and the industrial landscape in the Indo-Pacific and providing policy recommendations for the U.S. and other countries for their trade and industrial policy. His faculty sponsor is Robert Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment at Harvard Kennedy School. Email: hyeo@hks.harvard.edu