About Charles Shapiro

Amb.Shapiro returned to Washington in 2008 after serving as the chargé d’affaires (acting ambassador) at the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. There he helped prepare for and support the visit of President Barack Obama for the Fifth Summit of the Americas earlier this year.

Amb. Shapiro previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela. His other foreign postings include Chile, El Salvador and Denmark, and he has held a variety of Washington assignments.

Topics to be discussed by Amb. Shapiro include:

• The Honduras crisis and its regional implications

• Update on Mexico

• Expansion of the Panama Canal

• Chile’s economic development model

• China’s trade initiatives with Brazil and the region

• Caribbean overview

• Spreading the benefits of trade more widely