Even as the Trump Administration imposes tariff hikes on Chinese imports, the prospect of negotiating a new trade agreement, a so-called Phase Two deal, remains on the table. But how realistic is this possibility? What key elements would the United States need to include to make such a deal meaningful? What concessions would China demand in return? And what lessons can we draw from the Phase One negotiations and its implementation to guide this effort?

On Tuesday, April 22, WITA and the Asia Society Policy Institute hosted a discussion panel addressing all these questions.

Featured Speakers:

Christopher Adams, Senior Advisor, Covington & Burling LLP

Craig Allen, Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group; former President, US-China Business Council

Jeff Gerrish, Partner, Schagrin Associates; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Industrial Competitiveness, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Lingling Wei, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Moderator: Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI)

Speaker Biographies 

Christopher Adams advises clients on matters involving China and the region. A non-lawyer, Chris served as the Senior Coordinator for China Affairs at the Treasury Department. He coordinated China policy issues across the U.S. government, led negotiations with China on a broad range of trade and investment issues, managed the highest level U.S.-China economic policy dialogues for the Obama and Trump administrations, and advised the Treasury Secretary and other cabinet officials.

Chris helped develop and implement U.S. trade policy toward China with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) from 2007 to 2015 as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy USTR, and Minister Counselor for Trade Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, USTR’s first representative in China.

Chris directed government affairs, public relations, and corporate marketing in China for the Eastman Kodak Company from 2001 to 2006 as Chief Representative for China; Vice President, North Asia Region; and Director, Olympic Programs. During this time, Chris was elected to four consecutive terms as a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and served on the Chamber’s Public Policy Development Committee.

Chris assisted companies with market access issues as a commercial officer in the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service in Beijing and Taipei, from 1993 to 2001. Before joining the Commerce Department, Chris managed media relations and information programs with the American Institute in Taiwan and directed business advisory services at a private trade association in Washington, DC.

Craig Allen joined The Cohen Group in 2025 after serving as the President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) from 2018 to 2024, a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business in China. Prior to his leadership at USCBC, Ambassador Allen was the United States Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam from December 19, 2014, to July 2018.

Before his ambassadorial role, Ambassador Allen had a long and distinguished career in US public service, primarily within the Department of Commerce. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the Department’s International Trade Administration and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. His prior overseas assignments include serving as the Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Beijing, where he held the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service. He also served as Senior Commercial Officer in South Africa and as Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Tokyo.

Earlier in his career, Ambassador Allen worked at the National Center for APEC in Seattle, contributing to APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. He held commercial attaché positions at the U.S. Embassies in Beijing and Tokyo and at the American Institute in Taiwan, where he was Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He began his government career in 1985 as a Presidential Management Intern at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, later serving as an international economist in its China Office.

Ambassador Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. In these roles, she focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world.

Jeff Gerrish served as the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Industrial Competitiveness from 2018 to 2020.  In this role, he formulated and implemented U.S. trade policy for the regions and issues under his purview, led critically important trade negotiations, and developed and executed strategies to address trade barriers and unfair trade practices in countries around the world.  Ambassador Gerrish served as the lead negotiator for the U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement and played a key role in the negotiation or renegotiation of several other major trade agreements, including the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, the U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.  While at USTR, Ambassador Gerrish was responsible for issues relating to steel trade policy, and he led USTR’s efforts on the actions taken on imports of steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.  From April 2018 to May 2019, Ambassador Gerrish also served as acting President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Ambassador Gerrish has extensive experience assisting companies in complex antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguards cases and in other high-stakes trade disputes before the U.S. government and foreign governments and institutions.  He has litigated hundreds of cases before the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, North American Free Trade Agreement binational panels, and World Trade Organization dispute settlement panels.  In addition, Ambassador Gerrish has worked with clients on national security investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and in investigations into unfair trade policies and practices before the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.  He has achieved highly successful outcomes for clients in these matters in industries ranging from steel to geosynthetics. 

Another important part of Ambassador Gerrish’s practice is advising clients regarding trade policy issues before the U.S. Congress and administration.  He also works with clients in ongoing negotiations relating to international trade agreements.  He advises clients on how such negotiations may affect their interests and operations and helps them to develop and execute strategies for the negotiations.

Ambassador Gerrish is a frequent speaker on international trade topics.  He also was previously appointed (and reappointed) by the chief judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade to serve as a member of the court’s Rules Advisory Committee, and he served as co-chair of the International Trade Committee and a board member of the Customs and International Trade Bar Association.  Ambassador Gerrish repeatedly has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America.

Lingling Wei is the chief China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and author of the WSJ China newsletter. She covers China’s political economy, focusing on the intersection of business and politics. Born and raised in China, she has a master’s in journalism from N.Y.U., got her start covering U.S. real estate, and has won many awards for her China coverage. She was among a team of reporters and editors whose work was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021. Lingling is co-author of the book “Superpower Showdown.”

Hosted in partnership with the Asia Society Policy Institute.

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On Tuesday, April 8, WITA International hosted a panel at the 55th Annual World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) Global Business Forum (GBF) in Marseille, France.

The Washington International Trade Association updated attendees about developments in international trade policy and geopolitics. Panelists offered insights on emerging challenges and opportunities shaping the global economy in the year ahead, and the potential impact of those policies on governments, supply chains, businesses and investors.

Featured Speakers:

Ed Allison-Wright, World Trade Center Gibraltar

Iana Dreyer, Founder and Editor of Borderlex

Angela Ellard, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Lionel C. Johnson, President of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute

Penny Naas, Lead GMF Allied Strategic Competitiveness, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Moderator: Kenneth Levinson, Chief Executive Officer, Washington International Trade Association (WITA)

Speaker Biographies: 

Ed Allison-Wright is a Director at Fairhomes Group of Companies, the proud developer and operator of World Trade Center Gibraltar.

World Trade Center Gibraltar launched in February 2017 and was 98.5% occupied within a month, bringing significant foreign direct investment, delivering crucial incubator space for fast-growth enterprises and providing headquarters workspace for established corporate occupiers. WTC Gibraltar contributes an estimated £65,000,000 per annum to the Gibraltar economy.

Fairhomes Group of Companies is an entrepreneurial organisation involved in several industries internationally, from vegetarian skincare cosmetics to real estate investment and development. As a Board Director, Mr Allison-Wright’s focus is predominantly on the international property side of the group, with active real estate investments and developments in the USA, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Gibraltar, where their Head Office is located. Within this remit, Mr Allison-Wright is responsible for World Trade Center Gibraltar. He is also responsible for the group’s other two owned licenses, these being World Trade Center London and World Trade Center Madrid. As part of his role, Mr Allison-Wright also takes responsibility for the public sector / government liaison with the group, helping to shape policy towards supporting employment generating growth and prioritising local socio-economic benefits of major regeneration projects.

Mr Allison-Wright is a Chartered Surveyor with specialism in Commercial Real Estate and is also a Chartered Town Planner. He has experience in attracting inward investment, encouraging localised growth and in providing a platform for start-up enterprises to thrive, through his involvement with several public-private sector partnerships. Mr Allison-Wright continues to be heavily engaged in these initiatives, holding board positions since 2012.

Within the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), Mr Allison-Wright has been a Member of the WTCA European Regional Advisory Council from its inception in October 2018 to September 2021, as well as Chairing the Real Estate Members Advisory Council since it’s inception in January 2018. He has also been involved in the WTCA’s 2019 Accreditation Pilot Programme and has judged the WTCA Champions Awards. Mr Allison-Wright was elected to the WTCA Board of Directors in September 2021 and sits on the Executive Committee.

Mr Allison-Wright holds a BSc (Hons) in Estate Management from the University of Reading (Berkshire, UK) and a MSc in Town Planning from the University of Brighton (East Sussex, UK). Accordingly, he is a Professional Member of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). He is also the holder of a Private Pilot Licence.

Iana Dreyer is the founder and editor of Borderlex. She launched Borderlex in 2014 and remains its driving force. Iana has deep international trade policy expertise spanning over fifteen years.

Iana steers Borderlex’s editorial activities and particularly likes to write about the politics shaping EU trade policy, systemic issues at the World Trade Organization, international trade disputes, the nexus between security and trade and EU-Asian trade relations.

Before launching her publishing activity in London, Iana worked as policy analyst in think tanks with a focus on international trade and international energy policy, consulting on occasion for governments. Iana has worked with the European Centre for International Political Economy, the Institute Montaigne and the EU Institute for Security Studies. Iana has also worked for the Financial Times group and trained in journalism. Iana has post-graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po in Paris.

Angela Ellard has served as WTO Deputy Director-General since June 2021. She is responsible for dispute settlement/reform, trade remedies, market access/trade facilitation, and ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies. She supervised the Secretariat’s facilitation of the successful conclusion of the 2012 Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. She also oversees the WTO budget.

Previously, DDG Ellard had a distinguished 26-year career as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel in the U.S. Congress. She achieved significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes with Congressional leaders and five Presidential administrations. She practiced law, focusing on trade litigation, policy, and legislation.

She is renowned for her expertise in trade and international economic policy, resolving trade barriers, and negotiating outcomes. She earned her J.D. cum laude/Tulane Law School, M.A. in Public Policy/Tulane, and B.A. summa cum laude/Tulane’s Newcomb College.

She speaks and lectures worldwide and has received numerous awards for her contributions to trade law and policy.

Lionel C. Johnson became president of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute in July 2014. His career spans nearly four decades, during which he has been a leader in international business, public policy, and economic development. He has served as senior vice president of the Initiative for Global Development, vice president of Turkey, Middle East, and North Africa Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and vice president of Public Affairs at Fleishman-Hillard.

Previously, Johnson was vice president and director of International Government Affairs at Citigroup and deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for International Development, Debt, and Environment Policy in the Clinton Administration. He was also a senior advisor for Resources, Plans, and Policy to Secretary of State Warren Christopher and a Department of State Policy Planning Staff member. He served as deputy director of the Clinton/Gore transition team at the Department of State.

As a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Johnson held assignments in the U.S. Embassies in Haiti, the Philippines, and Kenya. He also served as special assistant to Secretaries of State George P. Shultz and James A. Baker III. Johnson was a senior program officer at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He was a graduate instructor of U.S. foreign policy and American politics at the City University of Manila, Philippines, and received his B.A. in political science from Rutgers University in 1982.

Johnson is a professor of Practice of International Relations at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Johnson is also chairman of Sudoc, a sustainable chemical start-up, and is a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation. He has two children, Alicia and Christopher.

Kenneth Levinson serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and Washington International Trade Foundation.

WITA is the world’s largest non-profit, non-partisan membership organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and economic issues. WITA and its affiliated groups have over 10,000 members, and more than 160 corporate sponsors and group memberships.

Ken has over 30 years of experience working with companies, associations, NGOs and governments, advocating innovative solutions to complex public policy challenges. Over the years, Ken has worked with clients in the technology, telecommunications, biopharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, financial services, retail, apparel, energy, and consumer products sectors.

Previously, Ken served as Senior Director for Global Government Affairs for AstraZeneca. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Ken served as Senior Vice President and COO at the Washington, DC consulting firm of Fontheim International. Ken joined Fontheim after spending six years on the staff of U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV. Ken advised the Senator on foreign policy and national security matters, and served as the Senator’s chief advisor on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, dealing with issues related to international trade and tax policy.

Ken received his Master’s Degree from New York University after doing his undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst. Ken also spent a year studying at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Ken and his wife, The Reverend Donna Marsh, live in River Forest, IL.

Penny Naas is a global public policy leader who designs strategies on international economic issues that sit at the nexus of geopolitics, trade, and climate. She is an adviser for TradeExperettes, a global organization of women trade experts.

Naas has created innovative strategies and solutions for Citigroup and, more recently, for UPS as its president for international public affairs and global sustainability. She opened and was managing director of Citigroup’s first government affairs office in Brussels between 2007 and 2012 before leading UPS’s international team from 2012 to 2019. She started her career at the US Department of Commerce, where she worked for 13 years on international economic issues and advancing the commercial interests of US companies in Europe.

Naas holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is on several boards and has co-chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade and Investment.

The post The Global Outlook: Navigating Trade and Investment Trends in 2025 – WITA International Panel at the WTCA Global Business Forum appeared first on WITA.

On Wednesday, March 19, WITA, the Clayton Yeutter Institute at the University of Nebraska, and the Agriculture Trade Education Council hosted on National Agriculture Trade Day held a Zoom webinar on trade and agriculture.  

Panelists discussed the current trade landscape and future outlook of U.S. agricultural trade, including its place in relation to the overall U.S. economy, global markets, tariffs and trade barriers, and challenges faced by importers and exporters. 

Featured Speakers:

Jordan Dux, Senior Director of National Affairs, Nebraska Farm Bureau

Joseph Glauber, Research Fellow Emeritus, International Food Policy Research Institute

Virginia Houston, Director of Government Affairs, American Soybean Association

Tom Madrecki, Vice President, Supply Chain Resiliency, Consumer Brands Association

Moderator: Darci Vetter, Principal, Sower Strategies, LLC; former Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Speaker Biographies: 

Jordan Dux serves as the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation’s Senior Director of National
Affairs having started with the organization in 2009. Jordan is responsible for managing
NEFB’s national lobbying, regulatory, and policy development program. His responsibilities require him to work closely with Nebraska’s Congressional Delegation as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Jordan grew up on a hog operation near Fairbury, Nebraska. He earned his Bachelor of Arts
degrees in political science, as well as religious studies from Doane College in May 2007.
Before arriving at Nebraska Farm Bureau, Jordan worked on agricultural issues for Nebraska’s Third District Congressman Adrian Smith, and also spent time in Washington, D.C. working in the public policy department of the National Grange.

Jordan, along with his wife and their two daughters reside in their hometown of Fairbury,
Nebraska where they remain involved in their family’s showpig operation.

Joseph W. Glauber is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC where his areas of interest are price volatility, global grain reserves, crop insurance and trade. Prior to joining IFPRI, Glauber spent over 30 years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture including as Chief Economist from 2008 to 2014. As Chief Economist, he was responsible for the Department’s agricultural forecasts and projections, oversaw climate, energy and regulatory issues, and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

From 2007-2009, Glauber was the Special Doha Agricultural Envoy at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative where he served as chief agricultural negotiator in the Doha talks. He served as economic adviser at the so-called Blair House agreements leading to the completion of the Uruguay Round negotiations. He is the author of numerous studies on crop insurance, disaster policy and U.S. farm policy.

Dr. Glauber received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 and holds an AB in anthropology from the University of Chicago. In 2012, he was elected Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Virginia Houston is the Director of Government Affairs at the American Soybean Association, where she leads ASA efforts on issues pertaining to trade policy, market access, and international biotechnology and crop protection. She also handles tax policy, livestock, and aquaculture issues for the association. She joined ASA in June 2020 after six years as the Director of Government Relations at the American Seed Trade Association, where she was responsible for implementing ASTA’s federal legislative initiatives.

Prior to joining ASTA, Virginia held previous positions at the National Pork Producers Council, the Animal Agriculture Alliance and the Agriculture Marketing Service at USDA.

A native of east Tennessee, Virginia grew up on a diversified cow/calf operation, and her family owns and operates the oldest livestock auction market in Tennessee. Virginia holds a B.S. in political science from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in political management with a specialization in advocacy politics from The George Washington University.

Tom Madrecki is the Vice President of Campaigns & Special Projects at the Consumer Brands Association, he leads dynamic campaigns, leveraging insights from our Early Warning System structure to skillfully develop and execute integrated strategies while also overseeing the association’s supply chain portfolio.

Prior to this role, Madrecki served as Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics at Consumer Brands, where he represented the collective transportation, technology, sourcing and sustainability priorities of America’s CPG industry. Preceding his tenure at the association, he served as the director of urban innovation and mobility at UPS, where he led partnerships between the delivery company and city leaders to reduce congestion, increase quality of life and shape policy.

An avid cyclist, freight transportation wonk and graduate of the University of Virginia, he lives in Arlington with his wife, Priya, his sons, Noah and Maro, and their Siberian husky, Ava. The entire family is believed to single-handedly sustain America’s cheese and ice cream industry.

Ambassador Darci Vetter is General Manager for Public Affairs at Edelman. Formerly Chief Agricultural Negotiator and Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture. At Edelman, Vetter will lead the Public Affairs practice, collaborating across the full scope of offerings in the D.C. office. She will report to Lisa Ross, president of Edelman’s Washington, D.C. office. As the vice chair for Agriculture, Food and Trade, Vetter will work to spearhead the firm’s push to strengthen its support to clients in the commodities, supply chain, agribusiness and global trade arenas.

“Darci’s experience in Washington and negotiating around the world make her an incredible resource for our clients who are looking to protect their brands and grow and evolve their businesses in a complicated world. Our Trust research tells us that consumers are looking for businesses to have a voice on an increasing number of issues, and she can help them do just that,” said Ross. “Darci’s expertise will also help our clients identify new opportunities and open doors in food and agriculture in the U.S. and globally.”

Vetter, a longtime D.C. veteran, was most recently a consultant on international trade for food and agriculture, developing strategies for agricultural companies and trade associations on how best to engage foreign trading partners, foreign governments and U.S. government agencies. Previously, she served as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she led the development and execution of agricultural trade policy and negotiations for the U.S. government and negotiated the agricultural package of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement. Before that she was Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she provided policy direction for international programs and oversaw the Foreign Agricultural Service.

“I am excited to apply my experience negotiating complex trade, agricultural and environmental issues in the government arena to world of strategic communications, helping companies and organizations navigate increasingly complex supply chains, policies and consumer expectations,” said Vetter. “I can’t think of a better place to do so than with the talented and innovative team at Edelman.”

Vetter has been awarded some of the agriculture industry’s most prominent awards, including the U.S. Meat Export Federation Michael J. Mansfield Award in 2016. She was named Woman of the Year in 2015 by the Organization of Women in International Trade. She also sits on the CME Group’s Agricultural Markets Advisory Council, and on the Board of Directors for the Neogen Corporation and the Farm Foundation. Vetter is a graduate of Drake University and received her Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

This event was held in partnership with

The post Setting the Table on National Agriculture Trade Day appeared first on WITA.

Since the U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement entered into force in 2020 during President Trump’s first term, companies in the three countries have re-oriented their supply chains to meet the demands of the agreement.

Recent and potential actions taken by the United States, Canada and Mexico could upend North American supply chains, and have impacts on the North American economy that go beyond just the cost of the tariffs that may be imposed by the three countries.

On Tuesday, March 18, WITA hosted a webinar to discuss the real world impacts of these actions on trade and commerce in North America.

Featured Speakers:

Shannon Fura, Page Fura, P.C., and Immediate Past Chair of the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones.

Turenna Ramírez, Partner, Holland & Knight Mexico SC

Valerie Romero, Executive Vice President, Oremor Automotive Group (Ontario, CA); Chair, American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA)

Mark Shiring, CEO, Air Technology / Americas, ebm-papst Group

Laurie Tannous, Vice President Government Relations, Farrow; Chair, Canada US Business Association (CUSBA)

Moderator: Andrew Rudman, Senior Associate (non-resident), CSIS Latin America Program

Speaker Biographies:

Shannon Fura is a founding partner in the international trade law firm of Page•Fura, P.C. With a background in import/export law, intellectual property and international affairs, Ms. Fura offers clients the diverse background and skillset necessary to exercise compliance and ensure supply chain security in today’s global market.

Ms. Fura brings more than 20 years of experience to her representation of clients in the international arena. Her counseling in the import area includes representing companies before U.S. Customs & Border Protection and other impacted federal agencies in Focused Assessments and other reviews of their import operations. In furtherance to that representation, Ms. Fura works with clients in the establishment, enhancement and monitoring of compliance programs, and provides counsel on a myriad of specific issues including transfer pricing and customs valuation, tariff classification, country of origin determinations and marking requirements, tariff preference program/free trade agreement eligibility, trade relief and remedies, foreign-trade zones and duty drawback, and customs enforcement matters, including civil penalty actions, investigations, seizures and liquidated damages cases. In addition to this work, Ms. Fura also actively represents companies in the area of border/supply chain security including developing and evaluating program qualifications under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism/WCO SAFE Framework.

In the export arena, Ms. Fura brings her extensive knowledge of the intricacies of U.S. export control laws to her representation of companies. Her work in this area extends to representation before the Bureau of Industry & Security, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Bureau of the Census, and includes the development of comprehensive Export Management Systems as well as performing self-assessments of companies’ existing export compliance programs and policies. Besides conducting comprehensive reviews/program development, Ms. Fura also provides advocacy for clients on individual commodity jurisdiction requests, export license applications, Technical Assistance Agreements/Manufacturing License Agreements, and deemed export and re-export controls and compliance. She also, where necessary, counsels clients on the submission of voluntary self disclosures and issues of export enforcement.

Turenna Ramirez Ortiz is a corporate trade attorney in Holland & Knight’s Mexico City office. Ms. Ramirez focuses on advising multinational companies on cross-border transactions related to international trade, customs and non-tariff regulations.

Ms. Ramirez has more than 25 years of experience, and her clients include automotive, retail, chemical, petrochemical, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, software, cosmetics, electronics, maquiladoras (IMMEX) and trading companies. She handles strategic planning, trade compliance diagnosis, advisory on free trade agreements, preventive and reactive audits by the Mexican Tax Administration Service, as well as defense and litigation before the Mexican government and federal courts.

In addition, Ms. Ramirez advises on foreign trade, multilateral treaties and antidumping laws. Her experience includes design and implementation of business strategies, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) origin verifications, rules of origin, export controls, import/export regimes, bonded facilities structure and management, duty-quota design, high-level negotiations and implementation, and in-depth knowledge of tariff and non-tariff regulatory issues. She has participated in complex, high-visibility matters and in international trade negotiations with the secretary general of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in a program against forgery and piracy.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Ramirez was an attorney and board member of a Mexican law firm and Managing Partner of its Mexico City office.

Ms. Ramirez also has completed a leading professional service firms course at Harvard Business School, as well as several post-graduate courses on international business, commercial structure and legal aspects of foreign trade in diverse Mexican universities. She also completed an internship in the Congressional office of former Rep. Eligio “Kika” de la Garza.

Valerie Romero is a second-generation dealer with over forty years’ experience in the automotive industry who serves as the Executive Vice President of the family-owned and operated OREMOR Automotive Group in southern California and Texas. In her role as EVP of OREMOR, Valerie supports 18 rooftops representing 14 brands. In 2024 she was elected chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association by her fellow dealers. She also serves as a current member and two-time past President of the Ontario Auto Association, is currently on the Executive Committee of the University of LaVerne Board of Trustees, and is involved with CMCDA, NADA & NAMAD. Additionally, in the past she has been involved with the Assistance League, National Charity League, and Curtain Raisers.

Valerie is also active in the community, supporting and sponsoring local elementary and high school programs, foster children programs, law enforcement agencies and the local chamber of commerce. Valerie graduated from Scripps College with a dual degree in Psychology and Philosophy and returned to school to attain her Juris Doctorate from University of LaVerne, College of Law.

Mark Shiring is the CEO of ebm-papst for the Americas region since 2015. A senior executive with over twenty years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations. Mark’s experience with sales, marketing, and customer service teams spans multiple cultures from tenures in the USA and China.

In North America Mark managed a sales and marketing team responsible for direct OEM and distribution sales management as National Sales Manager and then Vice President of Marketing. He successfully led a transformation of the distribution channel business for ebm-papst to increase the branding, sales, margins, and mindshare.

Mark relocated to China in early 2010 as General Manager for ebm-papst China with full P&L responsibility for the sales, engineering, and manufacturing operation. ebm-papst doubled the sales and size of the operation within a 5 year period.

Mark returned to the US in late 2014 as Executive Vice President focused on improving the operation in manufacturing and engineering.

Laurie A. Tannous is a Cross-Border Attorney and a requested speaker at many trade and industry forums globally, providing public policy counsel to government officials and industry leaders on matters relating to Business Immigration Law, Global Mobility, Cross Border Management & Security, Customs/Trade, Cross Border E- Mobility, Entertainment Law, Forced Labour/ Human Trafficking Supply Chain Matters, Public-Private Partnerships and Economic Development Initiatives.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Tannous was a Border Services Officer with the Canada Border Services Agency bringing an in-depth experience to her understanding of immigration and customs laws and regulations.

Andrew I. Rudman has focused on Latin America throughout his public and private sector career, most recently as Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute. He joined the Wilson Center from Monarch Global Strategies (Monarch), a Washington, D.C -based boutique strategic advisory firm focusing on government relations and market entry/access for clients interested in doing business in Mexico and other Latin American countries. As a Managing Director, Andrew managed Monarch’s healthcare practice while supporting clients across a range of sectors and interests.

Prior to joining Monarch (then known as ManattJones Global Strategies), Rudman was Deputy Vice-President for the Western Hemisphere at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) where he developed and executed policy advocacy strategies across the hemisphere with particular focus on Mexico and Brazil. Mr. Rudman began his professional career as a tenured Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State and then worked in the Commerce Department as Deputy Director and then Director of the Office of NAFTA and Inter-American Affairs.

His government and private sector experience allow him to provide guidance for development of government relations strategies in the United States and in Latin America. He writes and speaks on a range of topics including U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations, trade, nearshoring, and health policy. Mr. Rudman received a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University and a bachelor’s degree in Government and Spanish from Colby College. He is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Thank you to our USMCA Review Series Sponsors

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Global commerce depends on the ability to use information and communication technology (ICT) networks and the Internet to conduct business across borders. Cross-border data transfers are essential to innovation, US jobs, exports, and  business in the agriculture, automotive, aerospace, finance, health, media, software, and telecommunications sectors, among others.

On Friday, March 14, WITA hosted a webinar to examine efforts to create a predictable and stable international framework to ensure the secure and responsible movement of information across borders.

Featured Speakers:

Stephen Claeys, Senior Director, Global Trade Policy, Pfizer

Josh Kallmer, Head of Global Public Policy and Government Relations, Zoom Communications, Inc.

Marta Prado, Director, Global Government Engagement, Visa

Andrew Wayne, Managing Director, Digital, Tax & Trade Policy, Siemens U.S. Government Affairs

Moderator: Nigel Cory, Director, Crowell Global Advisors

Speaker Biographies:

Stephen Claeys is Senior Director, Trade Policy at Pfizer. In addition to covering trade issues involving Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the ASEAN region, he is responsible for developing policy regarding trade-related pharmaceutical and IP pricing issues, digital trade and customs.
Steve has over 25 years of experience advising members of Congress, senior White House and U.S. Department of Commerce officials, and the private sector on international trade law and policy. He has served as Trade Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives for the Committee on Ways & Means’ Subcommittee on Trade, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Operations at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Import Administration and as Special Advisor on National Security Affairs in the White House, Office of the Vice President.
Steve received his B.A., with high honors, from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.

Marta M. Prado is Director of Global Government Engagement at Visa Inc. based in Washington, DC. In her role, Ms. Prado supports the company’s global business priorities and leads engagements on policy and international trade with U.S. and foreign government officials, international organizations, advocacy groups, trade associations, and thought leaders. Ms. Prado serves on the Services Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC 10) advising the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on international trade policy.

Before joining Visa, she worked at USTR, most recently serving as Deputy Assistant USTR for Southeast Asia & the Pacific and the Acting Assistant USTR for Southeast Asia & the Pacific, with responsibility for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy across the region. Earlier in her career, she practiced international trade law at the Law Offices of Stewart & Stewart.

Ms. Prado holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University.

Josh Kallmer is Head of Global Public Policy and Government Relations for Zoom Communications, Inc. (Zoom). In this capacity, he oversees the development and execution of
Zoom’s global public policy and government relations strategy and serves as the company’s chief representative before governments around the world.

From 2015 to 2020, Josh was Executive Vice President of Policy for the Information Technology
Industry Council (ITI), a business association of more than 70 of the world’s most innovative
companies. Before joining ITI, Josh was counsel in the International Trade and International
Dispute Resolution groups of Crowell & Moring LLP, where he helped major multinational
companies overcome regulatory and market access barriers, enforce their rights in foreign
markets, and otherwise mitigate the policy and geopolitical risks they faced when operating
overseas. From 2007 to 2012, Josh served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Investment, where he was responsible for developing and implementing U.S. international
investment policy and negotiating with foreign governments to secure greater market access and better treatment for U.S. companies abroad. From 1999 to 2004, Josh was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan & Hartson LLP, where he practiced in the areas of international litigation and arbitration and international trade.

Josh is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and speaks and writes frequently on
global economic and technology policy issues. He graduated with honors from Stanford University and received his law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Andrew Wayne is the Managing Director for Digital, Tax and Trade Policy on the Federal Affairs team at Siemens. Andrew joined Siemens in 2020 to support the tax and trade portfolio, which he will maintain while growing the team focus on policies impacting advanced manufacturing, such as research, incentives, AI and cybersecurity. Andrew spent ten years on Capitol Hill covering a range of policy issues, including the establishment of the Manufacturing USA program, advancing the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and serving as Chief of Staff.

Nigel Cory is a director with Crowell Global Advisors focusing on cross-border data flows, data governance, intellectual property, and how they each relate to digital trade and the broader digital economy. Nigel has provided in-person testimony and written submissions and has published reports and op-eds relating to these issues in the United States, the European Union, Australia, China, India, and New Zealand, among other countries and regions, and he has completed research projects for international bodies such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and the World Trade Organization. Nigel is a member of the United Kingdom’s International Data Transfer Expert Council and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s Data Free Flow with Trust Expert Community.

He previously covered trade and digital policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Nigel also previously worked as a researcher in the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to that, he worked for eight years in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which included positions working on G20 global economic and trade issues and the Doha Development Round. Cory also had diplomatic postings in Malaysia, where he worked on bilateral and regional trade, economic, and security issues, and in Afghanistan, where he was the deputy director of a joint U.S.-Australia provincial reconstruction team. Nigel holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in international business and commerce from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

This event is part of our Digital Trade Series sponsored by the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC).

The post Driving Health, Innovation, and Economic Opportunity Through Data and [International] Trade appeared first on WITA.

This event was OFF-THE-RECORD and was only available LIVE in-person or via Zoom on Friday, March 7.

No recording of this event is available.

Program Agenda 

9:00 AM (US/Eastern): Doors Open for Networking Breakfast

9:30 AM: Welcome 

Kenneth I. Levinson, Chief Executive Officer, Washington International Trade Association

9:35 AM: Discussion Featuring: 

Virginia Lenahan, Chief Counsel, International Trade, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Democratic Staff

Mayur Patel, Chief Counsel, International Trade, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Republican Staff

Josh Snead, Republican Chief Trade Counsel, Trade Subcommittee, House Ways and Means Committee

Alexandra Whittaker, Democratic Chief Trade Counsel; Staff Director Trade Subcommittee, House Committee on Ways and Means

Followed by: 

Q & A with Audience Moderated by Ken – Webinar attendees are encouraged to use the Q&A function on the Zoom app to submit their questions in real time.

11:00 AM: Event Close

Speaker Biographies

Virginia Lenahan is the Chief International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Democratic Staff.

Ms. Lenahan has worked in the Senate for a decade and has served as trade counsel for the Senate Committee on Finance since 2019. In this role, she has advised on intellectual property, labor, environment, and digital trade, and she has supported the committee’s work on numerous bills, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and legislation suspending normal trade relations with Russia. Prior to joining the Committee, she worked in the office of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa., on trade, tax, intellectual property, telecommunications, and judiciary issues. A native of Pennsylvania, Virginia earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Mayur Patel is the Chief International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Republican Staff, serving Chairman Chuck Grassley and the Committee’s Republican members.

Previously, he served for over seven years as an Associate General Counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). While at USTR, Mayur was the lead litigator on a number of WTO disputes, including in disputes with China and India. He also served as the lead lawyer for several chapters of the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA), and the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP). Prior to USTR, Mayur worked at an international law firm in New York practicing corporate litigation. Mayur has a J.D. and an L.L.M. in International and Comparative Law from Duke University School of Law, and a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William & Mary.

Joshua Snead is the Republican Chief Trade Counsel on the Trade Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives. He advises Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Adrian Smith (R-NE) on trade matters, including negotiation and implementation of trade agreements, bilateral relationships with U.S. trading partners, and preference programs for developing countries.

Before joining the Committee staff in 2016, Mr. Snead was in private practice at King & Spalding in Washington, DC, specializing in trade litigation and policy. Previously, he represented U.S. pork producers on trade policy matters as an International Trade Specialist at the National Pork Producers Council. Mr. Snead holds a JD and an MBA from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Gordon College.

Alexandra Whittaker is the Democratic Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director of the U.S. House of Representatives. She advises and represents the House Ways and Means Committee on all trade matters including trade agreement negotiations, implementation, and enforcement, bilateral relationships with U.S. trading partners, customs law, preference programs, sanctions, trade remedies, congressional oversight, as well as the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Before joining the Committee staff, Alexandra was Assistant General Counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with responsibility for providing legal counsel and policy guidance on a wide variety of international trade matters, as well as litigating trade remedies and agricultural disputes before the WTO. During her time at USTR, Alexandra also served as Assistant Legal Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was a U.S. negotiator for the WTO dispute settlement reform negotiations and represented the United States in all disputes and disputes-related matters before the WTO. Alexandra previously worked as an environmental attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and counsel for a trade association. She is a graduate of Spelman College and Howard University School of Law.

Kenneth Levinson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). WITA is Washington’s largest non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum in the U.S. capital for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and economic issues. WITA has over 4,500 members, and more than 170 corporate sponsors and group memberships.

Previously, Ken served as Senior Director for Global Government Affairs for AstraZeneca. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Ken served as Senior Vice President and COO at the Washington, DC consulting firm of Fontheim International. Ken started his career on the staff of U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, where he served as the Senator’s chief advisor for international trade, tax, foreign policy, and national security. Ken received a Master’s degree in European History from New York University after doing his undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst. Ken also spent a year studying at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The post 2025 Congressional Trade Agenda appeared first on WITA.

On February 13, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering the development of a comprehensive plan for “reciprocal” trade relations with America’s trading partners. WITA unpacked the President’s plan; what it means for trade with America’s trading partners (large and small); and what it means for the multilateral trading system the U.S. helped create with the GATT and the WTO.

WITA hosted a pop-up briefing to discuss the reciprocal tariffs proposal and the global implications.

Featured Speakers:

Mark DiPlacido, Policy Advisor, American Compass

Professor Simon J. Evenett, Professor of Geopolitics & Strategy, IMD Business School

Professor Jennifer Hillman, Co-Director, Institute of International Economic Law, Georgetown University Law Center

Ambassador John K. Veroneau, Senior Counsel, Covington

Moderator: David J. Ross, Partner, Chair of International Trade, Investment and Market Access Practice, WilmerHale

Speaker Biographies: 

Mark DiPlacido is a policy advisor at American Compass specializing in issues related to trade, labor markets, financialization, and the broader economy. He previously worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, as deputy policy director for the DeSantis presidential campaign, and in policy and government relations roles in the U.S. Senate and at The Heritage Foundation.

Simon J Evenett is Professor of Geopolitics and Strategy at IMD. A globally recognized expert on trade, investment, and geopolitical dynamics, he is a leading analyst of the global business environment. For almost 30 years, he has guided board members, senior executives, EMBAs, and MBAs in understanding the significant shifts in the worldwide business environment and their implications for firm operations, performance, and strategy. In 2023, he was appointed Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade and Investment.

To offer evidence-based solutions, Evenett has developed several policy intelligence initiatives that provide real-time information on legal, policy, and regulatory developments worldwide. In partnership with the Max Schmidheiny Foundation and the University of St. Gallen, he founded the St Gallen Endowment for Prosperity Through Trade (SGEPT), which now employs around 40 professionals. The SGEPT currently hosts three leading independent commercial policy monitoring initiatives: the Global Trade Alert, a key resource for trade monitoring and assessing trade tensions, the New Industrial Policy Observatory, and the Digital Policy Alert.

Launched in 2023, Evenett created the Crux of Capitalism initiative which provides valuable insights into the performance of firms and sectors in 21 major economies. Additionally, he has served as a World Bank official twice, on the UK Competition Commission, was a Member of the Trade and the Economy Panel at the UK Department of International Trade, and has sat on several high-profile commissions relating to the future of world trade.

His research focuses on geopolitical rivalry, international trade policy, protectionism, industrial policy, business-government relations, trade negotiations and agreements, and the WTO. Evenett draws out the implications of these developments for executives, corporate strategy, and public policy. His work is cited in numerous fields, including international trade, international business, and international political economy/political science, and he has given over 650 presentations to private sector, public policy, and educational audiences.

For 30 years, Evenett’s research and practitioner engagement has lain at the intersection of corporate decision-making, public policy and diplomacy, and markets. Starting with a focus on how firms manipulate trade policy processes to gain commercial advantage, his interests broadened to include corporate diplomacy, the impact of trade agreements and the WTO, and competition law and enforcement. With the revival of protectionism during and after the global financial crisis, Evenett’s efforts pivoted again. More recently, he has focused on the resurgence of industrial policy, geopolitical rivalry, and other defining features of our time, including China-US rivalry and state support for the clean energy transition.

Evenett is the author and co-author of over 250 publications and contributes thought leadership to diverse audiences through blogs and newspaper columns. Frequently cited in global media, he has published extensively in leading academic journals including The Journal of International Business Policy, the Journal of International Economic Law, and the Journal of Political Economy. Among his most recent works is The Scramble for Raw Materials: Time to Take Stock? co-authored with Johannes Fritz, and the co-authored journal article The Return of Industrial Policy in Data.

Before joining IMD, Evenett was a Professor of International Trade and Economic Development at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where he served as the Academic Director of the St Gallen MBA for over a decade. Previously he taught at Oxford University and held fellowships at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC. Evenett has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University twice and was Visiting Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business three times.

Jennifer A. Hillman is currently a professor of practice at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching the lead courses in international business and international trade, while serving as a fellow of Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law (IIEL). She is also co-director of the Center for Inclusive Trade and Development and served as a panelist for the second dispute under the USMCA (updated NAFTA)–a dispute between the United States and Canada over the application of US safeguard measures to imports of solar panels. She recently published Legal Aspects of Brexit:Implications of the United Kingdom’s Decision to Withdraw from the European Union (IIEL 2017), drawn from a seminar she co-taught in the fall of 2016.She has also written extensively about international trade law and the WTO, including a 2017 IIEL Policy Brief on the WTO consistency of the Ryan-Brady “A Better Way” tax proposal, co-authoring the leading casebook on trade, International Trade Law, 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer (2016), papers on recent WTO cases on sanitary and phytosanitary measures (World Trade Review) and “Changing Climate for Carbon Taxes” (GMFUS.org).

Hillman has had a distinguished career in public service, both nationally and internationally. In 2012, she completed her term as one of seven members from around the world serving on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body. Prior to that, she served for nine years as a commissioner at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), rendering decisions in more than six hundred investigations regarding injury to U.S. industries caused by imports that were dumped or subsidized, along with making numerous decisions in cases involving alleged patent or trademark infringement. Before her appointment to the USITC, Hillman served as general counsel at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where she had previously been an ambassador and chief textiles negotiator. She also served as legislative director and counsel to U.S. Senator Terry Sanford of North Carolina.

Hillman formerly served as a partner in the law firm of Cassidy Levy Kent, a senior transatlantic fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, as president of the Trade Policy Forum and on the selection panel for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of visitors at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.She is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and Duke University.

John K. Veroneau is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, a Washington, DC-based global law firm. His practice focuses on international trade law matters, and he chairs the firm’s public policy practice group. He has served in Senate-confirmed positions in Republican and Democratic Administrations. Under President Bush, he was Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) and USTR General Counsel. Under President Clinton, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. Mr. Veroneau was Legislative Director to former US Senator Bill Cohen, Legislative Director to former US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Chief of Staff to US Senator Susan Collins. He earned his B.A. from the University of Maine and his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. He and his wife Carol Svoboda have two sons.

David Ross chairs WilmerHale’s International Trade, Investment and Market Access Practice. Drawing on his experience at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and on Capitol Hill, Mr. Ross advises companies on the use of domestic and international trade rules to eliminate regulatory barriers and other impediments to their businesses and investments around the world, with a particular focus on the technology, services/financial services, and aviation/aerospace sectors. Mr. Ross also spends significant time on trade policy and legislative matters, including proceedings under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, US legislation, the negotiation and enforcement of international agreements, and World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international trade law. Mr. Ross joined WilmerHale after spending four years as international trade counsel to the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee, and eight years as associate general counsel at USTR.

During his time at USTR, Mr. Ross was responsible for legal matters involving services and financial services, subsidies, antidumping measures, and safeguards. Mr. Ross served as lead counsel for the United States in numerous dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO, including the successful US challenges to EU subsidies for large civil aircraft and Mexican antidumping duties on imports of US rice. Mr. Ross also served as the chief US lawyer in the negotiation of the free trade agreement with Chile and as the services and financial services lawyer in free trade agreement negotiations with Australia, Morocco, Bahrain and Oman.

While serving with the finance committee, Mr. Ross advised member, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Republican staff on trade and economic issues including services, intellectual property, investment, currency/exchange rates, climate, labor, trade adjustment assistance and WTO dispute settlement. Mr. Ross provided policy guidance on trade and economic matters involving trade with China, Europe and the Russian Federation, and he negotiated and drafted trade legislation on issues falling within the finance committee’s jurisdiction. Through these experiences, Mr. Ross gained deep experience in the formulation and execution of Congressional trade policy, legislative drafting, Executive Branch oversight, and the use of legislative tools to help address and resolve impediments to trade.

From 1993–1997, Mr. Ross was an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration, US Department of Commerce. Mr. Ross provided legal advice to the Import Administration (IA) on its regulatory responsibilities under the US trade remedy laws and defended IA determinations before US courts and NAFTA panels. He also was extensively involved in the negotiation and administration of the antidumping suspension agreements on uranium and honey.

The post Unpacking What’s Fair and Reciprocal appeared first on WITA.

On February 21, WITA hosted its first USMCA Review Series event where we explored key unresolved issues under the agreement, including disputes over corn, dairy, automotive rules of origin, labor, and energy. This webinar brought together experts to assess the current state of these disputes and discuss potential paths forward to address them.

Featured Speakers:

Rosanety Barrios Beltrán, Independent Energy Analyst, former Head of the Industrial Transformation Policy Unit at the Mexican Energy Ministry

John Bode, President & CEO, Corn Refiners Association; former Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Eric Gottwald, Policy Specialist, Trade and Economic Globalization, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

Shawna Morris, Executive Vice President, Trade Policy & Global Affairs, U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Producers Federation

Nicholas Paster, Associate, International Trade, King & Spalding; former Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) – represented the United States in USMCA dispute settlement proceedings

Moderator: Michael Smart, Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors 

Speaker Biographies:

Rosanety Barrios Beltrán is one the most recognized energy experts in Mexico. Her professional experience spans 15 years in the Mexican financial sector and more than 20 in the energy sector, in which she worked as a public servant for the Energy Regulatory Commission and for the Secretary of Energy between 2000 and 2018.

She has a 360-degree view of the energy sector, thanks to her experience as part of the team in charge of designing the Constitutional electric reform and the legal and regulatory design of the hydrocarbon reform in natural gas markets (intimately related to the electric sector), petroleum, and LPG.

Together with 20 other experts, Barrios founded the collective Voz Experta, AC¸whose mission was to make visible expert women in the energy sector. She is a member of the Mexican chapter of the International Women’s Forum and writes monthly in Opinión 51, as well as publishing technical articles in México Como Vamos. Currently, she is an energy policy and regulatory consultant.

She possesses a master’s degree in finance from UNAM as well as in economic regulation from the University of Barcelona. She also is certified as an independent counselor by IPADE.

John Bode is President & CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, the trade association representing the corn milling industry.

John is an appointed member of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee joining a select group of senior ag community representatives to provide advice to the Administration on matters of trade policy.

John has been involved in every significant change in federal food law since the 1981 Farm Bill. In private practice, he counseled leading food and agriculture trade associations and companies regarding legislative and regulatory policy advocacy, regulatory compliance and congressional investigations. He has also served as lead counsel for several of the nation’s largest food recalls and general counsel for leading food trade associations.

John served in three Presidential appointments at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services. Before joining the USDA in 1981, he was on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and served on the staff of then-Governor of Oklahoma David L. Boren.

Born in Oklahoma City, John was educated at the United States Naval Academy and the University of Oklahoma, receiving his B.A. in 1977. He received his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law in 1983.

Eric Gottwald is the Policy Specialist on Trade & Economic Globalization at the AFL-CIO. He is an expert on the effective integration of international labor rights into trade agreements and global supply chains. He currently represents the AFL-CIO on the International Labor Organization’s Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS). Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Eric was the Deputy Director of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), where he coordinated programs to end labor abuses in global supply chains, including cotton, apparel, palm oil, and bananas. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2005 and is fluent in Spanish.

Shawna Morris serves as Executive Vice President of Trade Policy and Global Affairs at NMPF. In this role she leads the organization’s efforts to advance beneficial dairy trade policies through work with the U.S. and foreign governments as well as with domestic and international allied organizations to maximize U.S. dairy export opportunities, promote a more balanced playing global field for the U.S. dairy sector, and address policy-related barriers to the sale of their dairy products around the world. She acts in the same capacity with NMPF’s partner organization on trade policy, the U.S. Dairy Export Council. As part of that work, she is a confidential trade advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and the Department of Commerce.

Prior to joining NMPF in 2003, Morris worked for an economic consulting firm. The Pennsylvania native is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. She is a past Chair of the U.S. International Dairy Federation.

Nick Paster is an associate in the Government Matters practice and a member of the firm’s International Trade team. His practice focuses on trade remedies, trade policy and negotiations, and trade agreement enforcement. Nick represents clients in trade remedy proceedings before the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement proceedings.

Prior to joining King & Spalding, Nick worked in the Office of the General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). He was deeply involved in the Administration’s renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and its subsequent implementation. During his time at USTR, he also represented the United States in USMCA and WTO dispute settlement proceedings. Nick also covered matters related to agricultural trade, technical barriers to trade, cross-border services, and trade in recyclable materials.

Before working at USTR, Nick worked at a private law firm based in Geneva, Switzerland focusing on WTO dispute settlement.

Michael J. Smart is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, where he focuses on international trade and investment policy, including market access and regulatory matters. He also advises multinational companies on sanctions, supply chain policy, and trade-related climate measures.

Mr. Smart previously served as Trade Counsel on the Democratic staff of the US Senate Committee on Finance. In that role, he advised Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and members of the committee on various trade matters, including World Trade Organization negotiations and dispute settlement, free trade agreements, agricultural trade, and the trade aspects of legislation to address climate change.

Before joining the Finance Committee, Mr. Smart was Director for International Trade and Investment on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House. Mr. Smart focused on the Doha Development Agenda, trade in financial services, free trade agreements, and bilateral investment treaties. He also served as the lead White House staff for cabinet-level dialogues with Brazil and India.

Mr. Smart was previously an associate at the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP, where his practice focused on international trade and investment policy and dispute resolution. He represented companies and governments in WTO, investment treaty, and NAFTA disputes. Earlier in his career, Mr. Smart was Legislative Director for former Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).

Mr. Smart has appeared on CNN International, BBC News, Bloomberg News, and Channel News Asia and has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, and Financial Times.

Mr. Smart is a member of the Executive Circle of the Institute of International Economic Affairs at The George Washington University and a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington International Trade Association. Mr. Smart received his BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude) and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center (cum laude).

Thank you to our USMCA Review Series Sponsors

The post WITA’s USMCA Review Series: What’s Outstanding? appeared first on WITA.

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AI and Jobs. Resource Nationalism. Managed Trade. Quantum Computing. GreenTech. Commercialization of Space. On January 15, WITA hosted noted futurist Robert Moran of Brunswick Group to discuss 20 notable global trends and risks for 2025.

Featured Speakers:

Robert Moran, Partner, Brunswick Group

Moderator: John Miller, Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor

Speaker Bios:

Robert Moran, Partner, Brunswick Group

Robert is a Partner at Brunswick Group. He leads Brunswick Insight, our global public opinion, market research and analytics function with research teams in New York, London, Washington, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Munich and Dallas.

Brunswick Insight provides intelligence for market-moving decisions by combining experienced, data-driven counsel with an emphasis on rapid research and analysis. Brunswick Insight converts research into strategic advice for communications programmes and campaigns.

Robert was previously President of StrategyOne’s US operations, Edelman’s strategic research consultancy. Prior to that, Robert was Vice President at Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates. He began his career at political polling giant Public Opinion Strategies.

Robert is a Partner in the Washington office. He is a published thought leader and frequent speaker on trends in public opinion and market research and frequently writes on future forward subjects. He has lectured at the National War College in Washington and is a frequent contributor on Huffington Post.

John Miller, Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor

John W. Miller is the Chief Economic Analyst at TDM, in charge of writing TDM Insights, a newsletter analyzing key issues through trade statistics. John is an award-winning journalist who’s reported from 45 countries for the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and NPR. As a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he covered all aspects of global trade, including the World Trade Organization, the Doha Round, tariff negotiations, smuggling, customs, counterfeit goods, global commodities, steel and mining, USTR, the EU Commission, bilateral and multilateral negotiations, key disputes such as Airbus-Boeing, and regulatory issues across the spectrum. He is co-director of the acclaimed PBS documentary film “Moundsville” and is working on a book for Simon&Schuster about Earl Weaver and the role of the baseball manager. John is from Brussels, and is fluent in English and French.

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