Full Title: Ambassador Demetrios Marantis: U.S. Trade Policy In The Asia-Pacific: The Path ForwardThis is the inaugural event for UMBC's new interdisciplinary major program, Asian Studies. Through the Social Sciences Forum, the Asian Studies Program, together with its co-sponsor the Department of Economics, presents Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, who will speak on "U.S. Trade Policy in the Asia-Pacific: The Path Forward." Demetrios Marantis serves as Deputy USTR, nominated for this position by President Barack Obama, and confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 2009. He is responsible for U.S. trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa. He also leads USTR global initiatives on trade and development, labor, and the environment. Demetrios Marantis recently served as Chief International Trade Counsel (Majority) for the Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity, he advised Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D - MT), as well as members and staff of the Finance Committee and Democratic Caucus, on trade and economic issues. Mr. Marantis joined the committee in February of 2005 after serving as Issues Director for Sen. John Edwards on the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, Mr. Marantis spent two years in Hanoi as Chief Legal Advisor for the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council where he provided technical assistance on international trade matters. Between 1998 and 2002, Mr. Marantis served as Associate General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative where he negotiated provisions of international trade agreements--including the U.S.-Singapore and U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreements--and represented the United States in WTO dispute settlement proceedings, including the U.S.-Mexico dispute on telecommunications. Mr. Marantis also worked for five years in the Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium offices of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. Tuesday, September 27, 2011, at 4 pm, in the LIbrary Gallery