James Escalante

James Escalante is an international trade professional aspiring to shape equitable agricultural policy and strengthen bilateral economic ties. Before joining the Master of Global Human Development program, James began his journey in trade policy in Washington, D.C. at the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC). He currently serves as the Agriculture Analyst at the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO) within the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Washington, D.C. In this role, he supports advocacy efforts centered on market access and intelligence for Philippine agricultural products in the Americas, most often addressing non-tariff barriers like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues.

James has been directly involved in the protection of over $500 million worth of Philippine products. Most notably, he and the PAO successfully petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reclassify coconut products, removing them from the major food allergen list. This action eliminated a major non-tariff barrier for the country’s top agricultural export.

James holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of St. La Salle - Bacolod, where he double-majored in Business Economics and Operations Management. He is passionate about moving beyond the implementation of existing trade regulations to actively design high-level, data-driven trade policies. At Georgetown, he hopes to build a rigorous foundation in quantitative economics to accurately measure and predict the long-term impacts of trade on rural and agricultural development. Given his background, he also maintains a special interest in global food policy, the ASEAN region, and exploring the private sector's critical role in driving sustainable development.

A homebody at heart, when James isn't working or studying, you can often find him unwinding at home, putting in hours at the gym, and fussing over his plants.