Suprise Visit to RA's AGM by Under Secretary Frank Lavin

Under Secretary Lavin (center, with glasses and big smile) with RA attendees for the Annual General Meeting at the American Club in Hong Kong



Former RA HK alumnus Ambassador Frank Lavin came for a suprise visit to RA's Annual General Meeting. Ambassador Lavin is now the Under Secretary for International Trade. Ambassador Lavin oversees the International Trade Administration (ITA) which has over 2,500 employees. The ITA is a division of the Department of Commerce.

It was a great honor to have Under Secretary Lavin speak to the Republicans Abroad just before our AGM. Ambassador Lavin was characteristically entertaining and humorous, and the meeting served as a reminder of why he is now one of the most senior trade officials in the US goverment.

Under Secretary Lavin touched on a multitude of subjects revolving around International Trade, and the general DC politics involved with respect to trade. Of course top on his agenda was intimating to China that their current policy of fixing the Yuan is extremely unpopular in the US, and was explaining his position that this currency regime should change as soon as the PRC is able to implement the change.

Of course it is the general opinion of most Republicans in China and Hong Kong that the Yuan will eventually float, but that putting intensive public pressure on the Chinese typically will actually slow down the process rather than speed it up. The conventional wisdom of most "China Hands" is if you tell them in private in a face saving way that this is critical and important, they will almost always find a way to reciprocate with you if you treat them with respect and as a friend.