TPP, NAFTA, GAAT, WTO - the concepts that govern our global economy and international trade are confusing to say the least, but affect us all. And why is there so much conflict around trade deals, which became a focal point during the 2016 US Presidential election? Haley Edwards breaks down the history of trade and explains how the idea of global trade has transformed in the past decades.

Haley Edwards is an author and correspondent at TIME. Her book, Shadow Courts: The Tribunals that Rule Global Trade, came out in 2016. Previously, she was an editor at the Washington Monthly and a foreign correspondent in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, where she reported for the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and other publications. She studied philosophy at Yale University and journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx