The recordings of the Intensive Trade Seminar are available for purchase. Please email us at events@wita.org to purchase access.

All sessions are off-the-record/Chatham House Rules.

Curriculum and Speakers

All Times Below in US/Eastern

Day 1: How Did the U.S. – China Trade Relationship Get Here?

Thursday, May 9: 9:00 AM – 12:15 PM (US/Eastern Time)

Session 1: 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM ET

China and the Multilateral Trading System

Terry McCartin, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China, Mongolia and Taiwan Affairs; former Senior Counsel for WTO Subsidies Enforcement, General Counsel’s Office, U.S. Department of Commerce

Claire Reade, Senior Counsel, Arnold & Porter; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs

Stephen Vaughn, Partner, International Trade, King & Spalding; former General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Bruce Hirsh, Principal, Tailwind Global Strategies LLC; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, and APEC; former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the WTO and Multilateral Affairs

Session 2: 9:45 AM – 10:30 AM ET

China’s Global Goals and Ambitions

Jacob Gunter, Lead Analyst, Economic Research Team, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS); former Senior Policy and Communications Manager, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

Paul T. Haenle, Managing Director, Head of Asia Pacific Policy & Strategic Competitiveness, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; formerly Maurice R. Greenberg Director’s Chair, Carnegie China, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dave Rank, Senior Advisor, The Cohen Group; former Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China

Moderator: Anna Ashton, Founder, Ashton Analytics; former Director, China Corporate Affairs & US-China, Eurasia Group

Session 3: 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM ET

 National Security, Technology and Cybersecurity

Charles Durant, Director Field Intelligence Element, National Security Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; former Deputy Director for Counterintelligence, U.S. Department of Energy

Peter Harrell, Non-Resident Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness, National Security Council at the White House

Naomi Wilson, Senior Vice President for Asia & Global Trade, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI); former Acting Director for Asia-Pacific, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Moderator: Hon. Nazak Nikakhtar, Partner, National Security Chair, Wiley Rein LLC; former Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce

Session 4: 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM ET

U.S. Import Bans, Investment and Export Controls

Daniel Bahar, Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Services and Investment

John Foote, Partner, Trade, Customs, Forced Labor, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Kevin Wolf, Partner, Akin; Senior Fellow, Center for Security and Emerging Technology; former Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Moderator: Neena Shenai, Partner in International Trade Investment and Market Access, WilmerHale; former Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary for Export Administration in the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce

Day 2: Where Does the U.S.- China Trade Relationship Go from Here?

Friday, May 10: 9:00 AM- 12:00 PM (US/Eastern Time)

Session 5: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM ET

U.S. Trade Policy and Tariffs

Ambassador Sarah Bianchi, Senior Managing Director & Chief Strategist, International Political Affairs and Public Policy, Evercore; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Ed Brzytwa, Vice President of International Trade, Consumer Technology Association; former Director for International Trade, American Chemistry Council; former Director APEC Affairs and Director for Industrial Non-Tariff Barriers, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Amy P. Celico, Partner, Albright Stonebridge Group | Dentons Global Advisors; former Senior Director for China Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; former Deputy Director, Office of the Chinese Economic Area, U.S. Department of Commerce; former Head of Trade Facilitation Office, U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China

Jamieson Greer, Partner, International Trade, King & Spalding; former Chief of Staff, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Timothy Keeler, Partner, Mayer Brown; former Chief of Staff, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Session 6: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET

U.S. Strategies to Compete with China

Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, SAFE; former International & Strategy Advisor, National Governors Association

Vanessa Sciarra, Vice President, Trade & International Competitiveness, American Clean Power Association (ACP); former Vice President for Legal Affairs and Trade & Investment Policy, National Foreign Trade Council

Sujai Shivakumar, Senior Fellow and Director, Renewing American Innovation, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Moderator: Maureen Hinman, Co-Founder and Executive Chair, Silverado Policy Accelerator; former Director for Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Session 7: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

What Lies Ahead in U.S. -China Trade Relations

Ambassador Craig Allen, President, US-China Business Council; former Deputy Assistant Secretary for China, U.S. Department of Commerce

Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Partner, Armitage International, L.C.; former Senior Fellow for Asian Security, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

David Hanke, Staff Director, U.S. House Select Committee on China

Clete Willems, Partner, Akin; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy NEC Director, The White House; former Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation, and Administrative Law, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Wendy Cutler, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Speaker Biographies

Terry McCartin serves as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China, Mongolia and Taiwan Affairs.  In that capacity, he is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy toward China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia and Taiwan.  

Mr. McCartin served as one of the lead U.S. negotiators for the Economic and Trade Agreement between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, signed in January 2020.  This agreement requires structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange, among other things.  Mr. McCartin has also chaired Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council meetings with U.S. trade partners, including Taiwan and Mongolia.  Mr. McCartin currently serves as the chief U.S. negotiator for the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.  Through this initiative, which is being conducted under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, the two sides are seeking to conclude trade agreements covering the areas of customs and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, anticorruption, small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture, standards, digital trade, labor, environment, state-owned enterprises and non-market policies and practices.

Previously, Mr. McCartin served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs (from 2006 to 2017) and the Senior Director for Monitoring and Enforcement for China (from 2001 to 2006).  In those capacities, Mr. McCartin chaired the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee’s Subcommittee on China, whose principal mission was to oversee and coordinate the U.S. government’s efforts to ensure that China fully implemented the commitments that it made upon acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.  Mr. McCartin was also responsible for the enforcement of China’s WTO obligations, including through the pursuit of meritorious WTO dispute settlement cases in areas such as discriminatory taxation policies, local content requirements, export restraints on raw materials, subsidies, intellectual property rights, theatrical films, financial information services, electronic payment services, trade remedies, and domestic support and tariff-rate quota administration for agricultural commodities.  He also served as the lead U.S. negotiator for the U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Films for Theatrical Release, signed in 2012, which significantly increased the number of movies that can be imported into China each year as well as the U.S. side’s share of box office revenues.  In addition, Mr. McCartin participated in numerous high-level U.S.-China trade dialogues (from 2004 through 2017).  He also served as the lead U.S. negotiator for the U.S.-Mongolia Transparency Agreement, signed in 2013, which represents the first stand-alone transparency agreement for the United States in the area of trade and investment.   

Prior to joining the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. McCartin worked in the General Counsel’s Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce.  As the Senior Counsel for WTO Subsidies Enforcement, he participated in the WTO accession negotiations with China in the areas of subsidies, antidumping duties and safeguards.  He also represented the United States in trade disputes before the WTO in the areas of anti-dumping and countervailing duties and served as a U.S. delegate to multilateral working groups studying the interaction between trade and competition policy under the auspices of the WTO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the North American Free Trade Agreement.  In addition, he advised the Commerce Department regarding the conduct of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and represented the Commerce Department in litigation before U.S. courts.

Prior to joining the Commerce Department’s legal staff, Mr. McCartin practiced as an attorney with a Washington, D.C., law firm and served as a law clerk to the Honorable John Lewis Smith, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

Mr. McCartin attended Stanford University and Georgetown University Law School, from which he graduated cum laude.

Claire Reade is Senior Counsel at Arnold & Porter. She provides clients with strategic counsel and assistance with major regulatory and governmental issues in the U.S. and China, guides Chinese companies investing or operating in the U.S., and advises a broad range of clients on strategic and legal issues and policies related to other international matters, including trade negotiations, trade litigation, and dispute settlement under the World Trade Organization (WTO). She has more than three decades of experience handling international trade strategy, negotiations, and litigation.

She returned to the firm in 2015 after an eight-year tenure at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where she served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs (2010-2014) and Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement (2006-2010).

As Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, Claire was responsible for managing U.S. trade negotiations with China, developing core strategies, coordinating U.S. interagency efforts, and leading successful efforts to eliminate key trade barriers. In her role as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement, she was responsible for coordinating USTR efforts to ensure that China met its international trade obligations to the U.S., playing a leading role in nine WTO disputes, as well as the special safeguard action against Chinese tires.

Prior to joining USTR, Claire counseled U.S. and foreign companies, industries, and governments on international market access issues. She also litigated in diverse U.S. agency proceedings, court appeals, and in international dispute settlement fora, regularly representing clients on NAFTA and WTO-related goods and services matters. She has helped clients on a wide range of U.S. trade law investigations, from countervailing duty and antidumping cases, to Section 301 cases and Section 201 safeguard actions.

She has frequently served as an outside lecturer, including at the Foreign Service Institute, National War College, and Washington area universities, and she is a well-known speaker at international trade events.

Stephen P. Vaughn is a Partner in the International Trade Team of King & Spalding who works primarily on international trade litigation and policy matters. In April 2019, Stephen completed more than two years of service as the General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  In that position, he managed a team of government attorneys representing U.S. interests in both trade negotiations and trade litigation. During two months in early 2017, Stephen also served as the acting U.S. Trade Representative.  He is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on current U.S. trade policy, as well as one of the most talented U.S. trade remedy litigators.

Stephen draws on his experience in both government and the private sector to help clients navigate challenging U.S. trade policy issues. While at USTR, Stephen was directly involved in numerous significant issues, including the new U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), actions undertaken by the United States against China pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and efforts to revise the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.  He also supervised U.S. litigation efforts before the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as litigation undertaken pursuant to other U.S. free trade agreements.  Stephen represented the Administration in numerous meetings regarding U.S. trade policy with Congressional officials and officials from other countries.

Before working at USTR, Stephen spent almost two decades in private practice representing clients in high-profile trade matters.  Much of his practice focused on injury issues in the context of antidumping and countervailing duty (AC/CVD) litigation. He has lengthy experience in complex trade litigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and North American Free Trade Agreement binational panels. 

During his time in private practice, Stephen represented clients in a number of trade policy matters, from enforcement of unfair trade laws to the role of trade issues in the context of climate change.

Stephen has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he co-taught a seminar on U.S. trade policy and the WTO.

Bruce Hirsh, the Principal and Founder of Tailwind Global Strategies LLC, has nearly three decades of experience developing and implementing solutions to complex global problems both in the United States and internationally. With the benefit of 18 years in leadership positions in the Executive Branch and Congress, he understands how to work at the nexus of policy, process, and personalities to advance solutions and achieve results for businesses seeking to expand their footprint in key markets and achieve their policy priorities.

In a sensitive and unpredictable period for companies who trade internationally, Tailwind provides reliable interpretations of the latest developments and their consequences for clients’ bottom lines, and advises clients on how best to minimize risk and maximize business opportunities. In doing so, Tailwind draws on Mr. Hirsh’s deep knowledge of substantive trade and regulatory issues, as well as U.S. and international policy-making institutions. Over the course of his government career, Bruce developed U.S. government positions, initiatives and legislation on a variety of topics and built broad-based coalitions in the WTO, APEC and elsewhere to advance initiatives internationally.

Prior to establishing Tailwind, Bruce worked as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, and APEC, where he negotiated Japan-related provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and represented the United States at Senior Official meetings under APEC and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. He also developed and successfully executed strategies for addressing market access and regulatory hurdles in collaboration with private sector stakeholders. As Deputy Assistant USTR for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, he was lead U.S. negotiator for WTO Trade Facilitation, helping to set up the successful conclusion of the first multilateral WTO agreement in two decades, the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

From 2011 to 2014, Bruce was Chief International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, where he was Chairman Max Baucus’s principal advisor on international trade and economic matters and advised Members of the Committee and the Democratic Caucus on these issues. In that role, he negotiated the Baucus-Camp trade promotion authority legislation.

Bruce also served at USTR as Chief Counsel for Dispute Settlement and as Legal Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland. Before joining USTR in 1998, he practiced law in Washington, DC and Tokyo, Japan.

Jacob Gunter is a Lead Analyst Economy at Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). He brings ten years of experience in China to the role, including the most recent four years as the Lead Pen of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, where he served as the Senior Policy and Communications Manager. He covers China’s political economy, industrial policy, innovation, self-reliance, decoupling, and examines how the EU can better economically compete with China in third markets.

Gunter has a dual Master’s degree in Sinology and International Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS and Nanjing University through the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in International Business from the University of Denver Daniel’s College of Business. He has studied and worked in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai and Yuyao, Zhejiang.

Paul T. Haenle is the Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Policy and Strategic Competitiveness at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and he is a visiting senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

Paul Haenle held the Maurice R. Greenberg Director’s Chair at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served from June 2007 to June 2009 as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Affairs on the National Security Council staffs of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. From June 2007 to January 2009, Haenle also played a key role as the White House representative to the U.S. negotiating team at the six-party-talks nuclear negotiations. From May 2004 to June 2007, he served as the executive assistant to the U.S. national security adviser.

Trained as a China foreign area officer in the U.S. Army, Haenle has been assigned twice to the U.S. embassy in Beijing, served as a U.S. Army company commander during a two-year tour to the Republic of Korea, and worked in the Pentagon as an adviser on China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Affairs on the staff of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Early assignments in the U.S. Army included postings in Germany, Desert Storm, Korea, and Kuwait. He retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in October 2009.

Dave Rank is Senior Advisor at The Cohen Group. He retired from the US Foreign Service in 2017 as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy to China. In this capacity, Mr. Rank ran the Embassy’s day-to-day operations, worked closely with his counterparts in Washington and Beijing, and served as the Chargé d’Affaires for the six months prior to Ambassador Terry Branstad’s arrival in Beijing.

Throughout his 27 year career in the US Foreign Service, Mr. Rank performed with excellence in various postings around the world. In addition to his final assignment in Beijing, Mr. Rank served in five other positions in the region: two prior posts at the US Embassy in Beijing, two at the America Institute in Taiwan, and one at the US Consulate General in Shanghai. He has also served at the US Embassies in Afghanistan, Greece, and Mauritius. Mr. Rank’s domestic assignments included Director of the State Department’s Office on Afghanistan Affairs, Senior Advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and the Desk Officer for the Republic of Korea.

From 2012 to 2013, Mr. Rank served as a Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. In 2015, Mr. Rank was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for his role in the release of the only American service member held by the enemy in Afghanistan. He is also the recipient of the American Foreign Service Association’s Sinclaire Award for the study of languages and cultures.

In addition to his role at The Cohen Group, Mr. Rank is a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Mr. Rank speaks Mandarin, French, Dari, and Greek. A native of Chicago, Mr. Rank attended the University of Illinois. He is married with three children.

Anna Ashton is the Founder of Ashton Analytics. Formerly, she was the director of China Corporate Affairs and US-China at Eurasia Group. She examined the business implications of policy developments in China and of US policy toward China. She has significant expertise in China-related trade and economic analysis and advocacy. Prior to joining Eurasia Group, Anna served as a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and was vice president of government affairs for the US-China Business Council, representing the council in engagements with the policy community, the press, and the public. Anna began her career as an intelligence officer for the Department of Defense and later worked for her home state of Arkansas, recruiting Asian FDI.

Anna holds a doctor of law degree from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in East Asian languages and civilizations from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College. She serves on the Congressional Circle for the US-Asia Institute and is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, the Trade Policy Forum, and Women in International Trade. In her free time, Anna enjoys hanging out with her kids and their pets, attempting creative projects, and going to a great yoga or spin class.

Charles Durant is Director, Field Intelligence Element, National Security Sciences Directorate at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and former Deputy Director for Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy

Charles “Chuck” Durant began his professional career in national intelligence in 1980 when he joined the US Army as a German language signals intelligence voice interceptor and he served military tours at US Army Field Station Berlin in West Berlin; Fort Huachuca, AZ; Fort Meade, MD; and Fort Carson, CO.

After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Chuck transitioned to US Army Counterintelligence in 1993 and served tours at the BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) Military Intelligence Detachment, the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, CO, and the US Army Foreign Counterintelligence Activity (USAFCA) at Fort Meade as well as a deployment to Hungary in support of the international peace keeping mission in the former Yugoslavia.

Chuck retired from the Army in 2000 and returned to USAFCA as a Counterintelligence Agent. After 9/11, he went to work for the National Security Agency until he returned to USAFCA as the Chief of Investigations. He then served as US Army representative to the DoD Counterintelligence Field Activity before assuming a position with the White House Military Office where he provided counterintelligence and security support to the President and White House staff on overseas visits.

In 2007, Chuck joined the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Intelligence and COunterintelligence. In 2009, he became the DOE Deputy Director of Counterintelligence until his retirement from federal service as a member of the Senior Executive Service.

After his retirement from federal service in April 2019, Chuck worked as the Berkshire Hathaway Energy Director of National Security and Resiliency Policy in Washington, DC.

In October of 2020, Chuck joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory as Field Intelligence Element Director and conducts frequent external engagement with sponsors across the US Intelligence Community. Chuck has 40 years of intelligence community experience and in 2019 was recognized for his service by the DOE Secretary of Energy with a Meritorious Service Award, the National Nuclear Security Administrator’s gold medallion, and a Lifetime Counterintelligence Achievement Award by the Director of National Intelligence’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

Peter E. Harrel is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also serves as an attorney advising companies and investors on international legal, regulatory, and geopolitical risks. As a member of Carnegie’s American Statecraft program, Harrell’s research focuses on issues of U.S. domestic economic competitiveness, trade policy, and the use of economic tools in U.S. foreign policy.

From January 2021 through 2022, Harrell served at the U.S. White House as Senior Director for International Economics, jointly appointed to the National Security Council and the National Economic Council. In that role, Harrell co-led President Biden’s E.O. 14017 supply chain resilience agenda; worked on the global digital, 5G, and telecommunications strategies; spearheaded negotiations with the European Union on the U.S.-E.U. Data Privacy Framework; served as the White House representative to the CFIUS committee; and worked on U.S. sanctions and export controls towards Russia is response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Immediately prior to joining the White House, Harrell served on the Biden-Harris Transition team from September 2020 to January 2021.

From 2015 to early 2021 Harrell was an attorney in private practice and served as Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. In those roles he advised U.S. and multinational companies on sanctions compliance and a range of geopolitical risks, and also published widely on public policy. His articles and op-eds appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, and Lawfare, among other outlets. Harrell has testified in front of multiple congressional committees, including, most recently, the House Financial Services Committee in February 2023.

From 2012 to 2014, Harrell served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. From 2009 to 2012 he served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, where he was instrumental in developing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s economic statecraft agenda.

Earlier in his career, Harrell served on President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, DC. 

Harrell is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University and holds a JD from the Yale Law School.

Naomi Wilson serves as Senior Vice President of Asia and Global Trade Policy. Prior to joining ITI, Naomi served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she most recently held the position of acting director for Asia-Pacific. In that capacity, she played a leading role on cybersecurity, law enforcement, and customs cooperation issues related to Asia and served as a senior advisor to Secretary Jeh Johnson. During her tenure at DHS, Naomi led development and implementation of priority policy initiatives for DHS engagement with China, including secretarial engagements and agreements. She worked closely with interagency colleagues to negotiate and implement agreements stemming from the September 2015 State visit between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, including managing the U.S.-China High-Level Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues for DHS.

Prior to joining DHS, Naomi served as a staffer on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs and as a research assistant at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

Naomi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Master’s in International Affairs & National Security. In 2011, she completed intensive Chinese language training at Peking University. Naomi speaks advanced Mandarin and French and is a native of Connecticut.

The Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar is Partner & Chair of National Security at Wiley Rein LLC. She brings over two decades of experience in international trade and national security to help clients succeed in the domestic and global marketplace. Through leadership roles in the U.S. government and private sector, Nazak has leveraged her valuable insights into the expansive range of U.S. and international laws, regulatory and policy processes, and federal agency resources to achieve clients’ business objectives. 

From 2018 to 2021, with unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Nazak served as the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Industry & Analysis at the International Trade Administration (ITA). Nazak also fulfilled the duties of the Under Secretary for Industry and Security at Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). In these roles, Nazak was the agency’s primary liaison with U.S. industry and trade associations, and she shaped major initiatives to strengthen U.S. industry competitiveness, promote innovation, and accelerate economic and job growth. As one of the key national security experts in the U.S. government, she developed and implemented innovative laws, regulations, and policies to safeguard strategically important technologies, strengthen the U.S. industrial base, and protect the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. As the Department’s lead on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), she played a key role in shaping U.S. investment policy. As the head of the agency’s trade policy office, she advised the U.S. government on legal and economic issues impacting critical technologies, advanced manufacturing, financial services, e-commerce, data privacy, cybersecurity, critical minerals/rare earths, and energy competition. Finally, as the federal agency’s lead on supply chain assessments, Nazak spearheaded the United States’ first-ever whole-of-government initiative to evaluate and strengthen supply chains across all strategic sectors of the economy.

Daniel Bahar is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, where he focuses on international trade and investment policy, including negotiations, market access, and regulatory matters.

From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Bahar served as Assistant US Trade Representative for Services and Investment, responsible for development and implementation of US services, investment, and digital trade policy.  He oversaw bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral negotiations, including services, investment, and digital aspects of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the US-China Phase One Trade Agreement, the US-Japan Digital Trade Agreement, and the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce.  He also represented USTR on the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

As Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Investment, beginning in 2012, Mr. Bahar led USTR’s overall investment policy portfolio, serving as USTR’s lead investment negotiator for trade and investment agreements, including U.S.-China investment treaty negotiations and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and representing the United States on investment matters in international fora, such as the G20.  He joined USTR as Director for Investment in 2006.

Before joining USTR, Mr. Bahar was an associate at Sidley Austin LLP, representing multinational companies, organizations, and governments on matters arising under the WTO, international trade and investment agreements, and US law.

Mr. Bahar and the USTR Digital Trade Team received the National Foreign Trade Council Foundation Trade Leadership for the Digital Age Award in 2018, recognizing the team’s role in advancing US digital trade leadership.  Mr. Bahar received the USTR William B. Kelly Special Honor Award in 2015, recognizing exemplary dedication and leadership in US trade policy.

Mr. Bahar received a J.D. from Harvard Law School (cum laude), an M.A. from the College of Europe, studying as a Fulbright Fellow, and a B.S. from Drexel University (summa cum laude).

John Foote is Partner, Trade, Customs, Forced Labor at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. John Foote brings an in-depth understanding of international trade law, U.S. trade policy, and global supply chains to his practice advising companies with trade compliance and enforcement challenges—especially related to forced labor trade laws.

Whether helping clients navigate trade enforcement actions, conducting sophisticated supply chain due diligence, or helping clients resolve disputes with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, John delivers sound counsel characterized by a dual orientation toward policy and compliance.

John is a respected authority on the use of trade laws to target forced labor in global supply chains. He is passionate about protecting both his clients and vulnerable populations from the deleterious impact of forced labor in global supply chains.

As restrictions on access to the U.S. market continue to grow, John gives companies practical advice on how to navigate all manner of trade enforcement actions and helps design compliance solutions to minimize the impact of the same.

Leader of Kelley Drye’s customs practice, John helps companies leverage the building blocks of trade (classification, valuation, country of origin, preferential trade agreements, drawback, tariff exclusions, and waivers) to reduce the unnecessary costs of doing business and avoid business disruptions. He advises companies on strategies to mitigate the impact of high tariffs and advocates for the fair and transparent enforcement of U.S. trade laws.

John represents clients in enforcement proceedings before CBP, including Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) detentions, detentions under Withhold Release Orders (WROs) pursuant to the forced labor import ban (Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930), Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) proceedings, customs penalty actions, liquidated damages assessments, seizures, forfeitures, and customs audits.

John also represents clients in customs and trade disputes before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

A prolific writer and frequent speaker on trade and supply chain issues, John is recognized for his in depth knowledge on the use of trade tools to address unfair or unjust labor conditions in global supply chains. These include forced labor trade laws, the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism under the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, and labor provisions under other free trade agreements.

Early in his career, John was a law clerk for the Hon. Gregory W. Carman at the U.S. Court of International Trade.

John complements his efforts addressing labor abuses in supply chains with a strong commitment to pro bono legal work, including assisting Uyghurs and others with asylum claims.

Kevin Wolf is a Partner at Akin LLP. He has more than 25 years’ experience providing advice and counseling regarding the laws, regulations, policies and politics pertaining to export controls, sanctions, national security reviews of foreign direct investments and other international trade issues. His practice focuses on Export Administration Regulations (EAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Mr. Wolf previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration (2010- 2017) with the Bureau of Industry and Security, where he developed and implemented policies pertaining to export administration issues, particularly the licensing requirements of EAR.

Neena Shenai is a Partner in International Trade Investment and Market Access at WilmerHale. She is a seasoned legal professional with over 20 years of legal, compliance and policy experience in global cross-border activities in the private sector and in government. Ms. Shenai focuses her practice on sanctions and export controls, import/customs, CFIUS, M&A due diligence and trade policy.

From 2015-2023, Ms. Shenai held several senior roles for Medtronic, the world’s largest medical technology company. While at Medtronic, she served as chief legal counsel and head of compliance for global trade matters impacting the company’s operations in over 150 countries, including sanctions and export controls, import and strategic supply chain issues, risk management and mitigation, corporate due diligence and trade policy.

Ms. Shenai served as a trade counsel for the House Committee on Ways and Means during the chairmanships of then-Reps. Dave Camp (R-MI) and Paul Ryan (R-WI). She has also worked as a trade policy counsel for the Senate Republican Policy Committee and as the senior adviser to the assistant secretary for export administration in the Bureau of Industry and Security at the US Department of Commerce.

Ms. Shenai previously was in private practice as an associate in the Washington, DC office of another international law firm and a professional trainee in the Rules Division of the World Trade Organization. She clerked for the Hon. Evan J. Wallach on the US Court of International Trade.

Ms. Shenai has been a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) since 2017, where her research focuses on global trade, international economics and globalization. The author of several papers and articles on international economic issues, she has appeared in numerous media outlets, including the BBC, Financial Times, RealClearPolicy, Market Watch, Voice of America, and Aspen Ideas and has served on task forces and projects at both the Council on Foreign Relations and AEI. Ms. Shenai is also a board member of the Washington International Trade Association.

Ambassador Sarah Bianchi is Senior Managing Director & Chief Strategist of International Political Affairs and Public Policy at Evercore ISI.

Ambassador Bianchi has nearly 30 years’ experience in both the public and private sector. Most recently, she served as deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 2021 to 2024, overseeing critical trading relationships across Asia and Africa. Her portfolio covered all aspects of trade, including sustainable supply chains, onshoring-shoring, energy transition, implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPs and Science Act, tariffs, technology, global trade agreements, labor and the environment.

In addition to public service, Ambassador Bianchi has served in several private sector roles. Prior to becoming deputy USTR, she led the U.S. public policy research team at Evercore ISI from 2019 to 2021, where she was ranked No. 3 by Institutional Investor. She also served as head of global policy development at Airbnb, managing director at BlackRock, and investment analyst at Eton Park Capital Management.

Ambassador Bianchi graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and served on the Senior Advisory Committee at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University from 2004 to 2021. She also served as the chair of the Biden Institute’s Policy Board, and is a Distinguished Visiting Follow at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Ed Brzytwa is the Consumer Technology Association’s Vice President of International Trade. He leads CTA’s trade and supply chain policy and advocacy work, with a strong focus on improving the international trade environment and global supply chains to strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. consumer technology industry.

Ed previously served as an international trade advocate for the American Chemistry Council and Information Technology Industry Council and a trade negotiator in Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Commerce. Ed obtained two Master’s degrees from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Austria, where he was a Fulbright fellow, and from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and has a Bachelor’s degree in The Classics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Amy P. Celico is a Partner at Albright Stonebridge Group, part of Dentons Global Advisors. Ms. Celico co-leads the firm’s China practice, overseeing a team of 13 professionals in Washington, D.C. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Ms. Celico assists corporate and non-profit clients develop and expand business opportunities in China and navigate regulatory and policy changes in the China market.   

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Celico served as Senior Director for China Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she was responsible for developing negotiating positions on issues related to China’s non-financial services sectors and intellectual property rights policies. She was also involved in developing trade policy positions for bilateral discussions with China through the Strategic Economic Dialogue and the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. Previously, Ms. Celico served as Deputy Director of the Office of the Chinese Economic Area at the U.S. Department of Commerce and head of Trade Facilitation Office at U.S. Embassy Beijing, where she monitored China’s compliance with its WTO commitments and developed U.S.-China trade policy to expand market access for U.S. companies in China. She also worked at the U.S. State Department, where she served as an intelligence analyst in the Bureau of Research and Intelligence, and as a Vice Consul for economic affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. Prior to her government service, Ms. Celico was the Director of Development for the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. She also worked at the International Monetary Fund as the bilingual assistant to the Executive Director for China. 

Ms. Celico serves on the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and is a Senior Associate (Non-resident) to the Simon Chair in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She has been interviewed on U.S.-China trade issues by news outlets including Bloomberg, CNBC, The Financial Times, National Public Radio, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and speaks regularly about these issues at conferences and other forums.   

Ms. Celico earned her M.A. in International Economics and Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. with honors in Asian Studies from Mount Holyoke College. She is also a graduate of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and spent seven years living and working in China. 

She is based in Washington, D.C. 

Jamieson Greer is a partner in the International Trade team at King & Spalding. His practice covers trade remedies, trade policy and negotiations, trade agreement enforcement, export and import compliance, and CFIUS matters. He has represented clients in trade remedy litigation before the Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission and federal courts. He has also assisted clients with advocacy before senior government officials and agencies with jurisdiction over international trade matters.  His clients include manufacturing, technology, energy, pharmaceutical, agriculture, financial and investment services, hospitality, and aerospace and defense companies.

Jamieson has experience developing international trade compliance programs and training client employees, conducting trade-related internal investigations, and advising on international trade aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining King & Spalding, Jamieson was the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. He worked very closely with Ambassador Lighthizer and senior White House officials on developing and implementing trade policy and advised the USTR on all aspects of the agency’s mission. Jamieson was also deeply involved in the Administration’s negotiations on the Phase One trade deal with China and participated in numerous strategy sessions with Ambassador Lighthizer, the President and other cabinet members as part of that process. He was a critical part of USTR’s efforts to negotiate and obtain Congressional approval of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Jamieson participated in every major Administration trade action initiated during his three years at USTR.

Before working at USTR, Jamieson spent several years in private practice focusing on trade-related matters, from compliance with U.S. export controls to transactions subject to CFIUS’s approval, trade remedies and antidumping laws.

Jamieson also served in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, including a deployment to Iraq. He served as both prosecutor and defense counsel in criminal investigations and courts-martial involving U.S. airmen.  

Jamieson appears regularly in print and news media, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and the BBC.

Timothy Keeler is a Partner and Co-Lead of Mayer Brown’s International Trade Product Team, as well as heading the firm’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) practice. He is also a member of the firm’s Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs group.

Tim advises and advocates for clients on high-profile International Trade law and policy, including investigations and tariff actions by the USTR under Sec. 301 of the Trade Act of 1974; safeguard investigations and tariff remedies by the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the USTR under Sec. 201 of the Trade Act of 1974; the consistency of various legal regimes – or proposed laws – with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and other international legal obligations; international trade negotiations in the WTO, Free Trade Agreements, and other arrangements; and WTO and other trade agreement litigation.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Tim served in a variety of senior positions in the US Government for almost 12 years. He was the Chief of Staff in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) from 2006 – 2009, where he oversaw implementation of US policy, strategy and negotiations involving all aspects of international trade and investment matters.

Before working for USTR, Tim spent more than five years at the Treasury Department from 2001 – 2006. He joined the Office of Legislative Affairs in 2001 as a Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for International Issues, where he was responsible for Treasury’s legislative strategy on issues including CFIUS, foreign exchange rate policy testimony, appropriations for US funding of the World Bank, and US participation in the International Monetary Fund. He later managed the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2002 – 2006 and assisted on all policy and personnel issues in the Office.

Tim also served on the Presidential Transition Team in 2000–2001 as a policy coordinator on export control and trade remedy policy, handling the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration (now called the Bureau of Industry and Security) and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Earlier in his career (1998-2000), Tim served as a professional staff member for international trade on the US Senate Finance Committee under Chairman William V. Roth (R-DE).

Tim is a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington International Trade Association. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in both the School of Law (2010 – 2017)—co-teaching a course on US and WTO law, policy, and politics, and the School of Foreign Service (2018). 

Rob Atkinson is the President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and former Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute. As founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), recognized as the world’s top think tank for science and technology policy, Robert D. Atkinson leads a prolific team of policy analysts and fellows that is successfully shaping the debate and setting the agenda on a host of critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy.

He is an internationally recognized scholar and a widely published author whom The New Republic has named one of the “three most important thinkers about innovation,” Washingtonian Magazine has called a “tech titan,” Government Technology Magazine has judged to be one of the 25 top “doers, dreamers and drivers of information technology,” and the Wharton Business School has given the “Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award.”

A sought-after speaker and valued adviser to policymakers around the world, Atkinson’s books include Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths About Privacy, AI and Today’s Innovation Economy (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2024), Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Mythology of Small Business (MIT Press, 2018); Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012), Supply-Side Follies: Why Conservative Economics Fails, Liberal Economics Falters, and Innovation Economics is the Answer (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), and The Past And Future Of America’s Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth (Edward Elgar, 2005). He also has conducted groundbreaking research projects and authored hundreds of articles and reports on technology and innovation-related topics ranging from tax policy to advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness. He has testified before the United States Congress more than 30 times.

President Clinton appointed Atkinson to the Commission on Workers, Communities, and Economic Change in the New Economy; the Bush administration appointed him chair of the congressionally created National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission; the Obama administration appointed him to the National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Advisory Board; as co-chair of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s China-U.S. Innovation Policy Experts Group; to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and the Trump administration appointed him to the G7 Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence. The Biden administration appointed him as a member of the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information, and a member of the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ Council on China Competition.

Atkinson also served on the UK government’s Place Advisory Group to advise the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation on how policy can drive innovation in more regions. He is a member of the Polaris Council, a body of cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary science and technology policy experts who advise the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team on emergent and emerging issues.

Atkinson is a member of the Special Competitive Studies Project. He served on the Markle Foundation Task Force on National Security in the Information Age and serves on the boards or advisory councils of the University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, and the State Science and Technology Institute. Additionally, Atkinson is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Electronic Government and the Journal of Internet Policy; a member of the Global Innovation Forum Brain Trust; a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; a fellow at the Columbia University Institute of Tele-Information; a fellow of Glocom, a Tokyo-based research institute. He is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.ice.

Atkinson was previously vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute, where he directed the Technology & New Economy Project. He wrote numerous research reports on technology and innovation policy, covering issues such as broadband telecommunications, e-commerce, e-government, privacy, copyright, R&D tax policy, offshoring, and innovation economics.

Previously, Atkinson served as the first executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC), a public-private partnership whose members included the state’s governor, legislative leaders, and both corporate and labor leaders. As head of RIEPC, Atkinson was responsible for drafting a comprehensive economic development strategy for the state and working with the legislature and executive branch of government to successfully implement each element of a 10-point action agenda.

Prior to his service in Rhode Island, Atkinson was a project director at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, where, among other projects, he spearheaded The Technological Reshaping of Metropolitan America, a seminal report examining the impact of the information technology revolution on America’s urban areas.

As a respected policy expert and commentator, Atkinson has testified numerous times before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and he appears frequently on news and public affairs programs. Among others, these appearances have included interviews on BBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and NBC Nightly News.

Atkinson holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he was awarded the prestigious Joseph E. Pogue Fellowship. He earned his master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Oregon, which named him a distinguished alumnus in 2014.

Abigail Hunter is the Executive Director of SAFE’s Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy (Minerals Center). Previously, Abigail served as Director of International Affairs and Partnerships within the Minerals Center. In this role, she nurtured existing and new SAFE partnerships to advance sustainable and ethical supply chains amongst allies and like-minded countries.

Before joining SAFE full time, Hunter headed federal government affairs for Quebec for nearly three years as the senior attachée in Washington, D.C. Her mandate focused on the energy, environment, and trade relationship between the province and United States. Hunter started her career at the National Governors Association, where she led the association’s international work.

Hunter completed her Masters in Sustainable Energy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Her four-part capstone on aluminum’s clean energy paradox was published by the SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Metals. She received her Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University with a double major in International Management and Managing for Sustainability.

Born in Toronto and growing up in New Jersey, Hunter is a proud dual citizen and conflicted hockey fan.

Vanessa Sciarra is Vice President for Trade and International Competitiveness at the American Clean Power Association (ACP), where she leads work on all aspects of trade policy as it affects the renewable energy industry. Prior to joining ACP, she worked at the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and at the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), where her work involved advocating for trade and international investment issues for companies in many sectors of the economy. In addition to her trade association work, she has served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and as an Assistant General Counsel with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). A member of the District of Columbia Bar, she also has had a significant career in private practice representing clients in international trade matters at two law firms. She formerly served as President of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT), based in Washington, DC, which works to promote the professional development of women in international trade and business and to raise public awareness of the importance of international trade. She holds her B.A. and J.D. from Yale and her M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.

Sujai Shivakumar directs the Renewing American Innovation (RAI) Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he also serves as a Senior Fellow. Dr. Shivakumar brings over two decades of experience in policy studies related to U.S. competitiveness and innovation. Previously, he directed the Innovation Policy Forum at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and led major studies of U.S. policies supporting advanced manufacturing, small business growth, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. He was also a lead contributor to a seminal National Academies study of strategies adopted by U.S. states and regions to foster entrepreneurship, drive technology transfer, and encourage regional high-tech ecosystems. He also helped prepare National Academy of Public Administration studies on laboratory technology transfer and the management of space situational awareness.

Reflecting his expertise in innovation policy, Dr. Shivakumar has testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and has been quoted in leading publications such as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. His academic background includes a doctorate in economics from George Mason University and service as an Earhart Foundation scholar at the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University Bloomington, where he authored The Constitution of Development (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and coauthored with Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom The Samaritan’s Dilemma: The Political Economy of Development Aid (Oxford University Press, 2005). During his tenure at the National Academies, he contributed to over 50 assessments of U.S. and foreign innovation programs.

Maureen Hinman is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator. Ms. Hinman, a leading policy expert on the intersection of energy, environment, and the economy, most recently served as Director for Environment and Natural Resources at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. At USTR she led a range of multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade policy initiatives focused on the environmental goods and services sector as well as natural resource conservation. Ms. Hinman previously served as the U.S. Department of Commerce’s senior industry trade specialist responsible for international policy development and interagency advocacy for the U.S. environmental technology industry. Prior to entering federal service Hinman consulted on regional integration and trade policy implementation at Nathan Associates, a Washington-based economic policy consultancy. Ms. Hinman serves as a policy advisor for the Center for Climate and Trade. She was named to Washingtonian Magazine’s 2022 and 2023 “Tech Titan” list

Ambassador Craig Allen is the President of the US-China Business Council and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for China at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

On July 26, 2018, Craig Allen began his tenure in Washington, DC as the president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 270 American companies doing business with China. Prior to joining USCBC, Craig had a long, distinguished career in US public service.

Craig began his government career in 1985 at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). He entered government as a Presidential Management Intern, rotating through the four branches of ITA. From 1986 to 1988, he was an international economist in ITA’s China Office.

In 1988, Craig transferred to the American Institute in Taiwan, where he served as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He held this position until 1992, when he returned to the Department of Commerce for a three-year posting at the US Embassy in Beijing as Commercial Attaché.

In 1995, Craig was assigned to the US Embassy in Tokyo, where he served as a Commercial Attaché. In 1998, he was promoted to Deputy Senior Commercial Officer. In 1999, Craig became a member of the Senior Foreign Service.

From 2000, Craig served a two-year tour at the National Center for APEC in Seattle. While there, he worked on the APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. In 2002, it was back to Beijing, where Craig served as the Senior Commercial Officer. In Beijing, Craig was promoted to the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service.

After a four-year tour in South Africa, Craig became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. Craig was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Brunei Darussalam on December 19, 2014. He served there until July 2018, when he transitioned to President of the US-China Business Council.

Craig received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Political Science and Asian Studies in 1979. He received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1985.

Zack Cooper is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and US-China competition. He also teaches at Princeton University and serves as chair of the board of the Open Technology Fund. He is currently writing a book for Yale University Press that explains how militaries change during power shifts.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Cooper was the senior fellow for Asian security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He previously worked as codirector of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He also served as assistant to the deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism at the National Security Council and as a special assistant to the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense.

Dr. Cooper has published research reports on a number of aspects of US strategy and alliances in Asia. He has also co-authored several books and written articles for academic journals and popular press, including International Security, Security Studies, Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. Dr. Cooper graduated from Princeton University with a PhD and an MA in security studies and an MPA in international relations. He received a BA in public policy from Stanford University.

Dave Hanke serves as Staff Director of the U.S. House Select Committee on China, leading the work of the Committee’s 28-person majority staff in support of Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8).

Previously, Dave was a Partner at the law firm of ArentFox Schiff LLP, where he represented clients on matters involving foreign investment screening (CFIUS), strategic technology policy, supply chains, U.S.-China competition, and government relations.  Prior to that, he spent over 12 years on Capitol Hill, serving in a variety of senior national security staff positions, including as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and as Counsel for National Security Affairs to Senator John Cornyn (R-TX, then-Senate Majority Whip).  Dave was the staff architect of Senator Cornyn’s Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), as well as the original staff architect of “secure 5G” legislation that was later enacted as the Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2019.  In addition, he previously served on the staff of the House International Relations Committee (Middle East Subcommittee), the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

From 2004-2007, Dave served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a JAG officer, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).  He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for 11 months in 2005-2006, during which he served as the Brigade Judge Advocate for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).  Dave received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University (Bloomington), as well as a J.D. from Indiana University (Indianapolis).

Clete Willems is Partner at Akin Gump. He advises clients, including investors, trade associations and multinational companies, on international economic law and policy matters. With over 16 years of U.S. government experience, he offers clients strategic guidance and legal representation on trade, investment, finance, economic development, sanctions and energy, among other issues.

Before joining Akin Gump, Clete served in the White House as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. This position was also part of the National Security Council. In this role, he was the lead U.S. negotiator at multilateral summits, serving as the President’s Sherpa at the G- 7 and G-20 Summits and the lead negotiator at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum. He was also deeply involved with negotiations with major U.S. trading partners, such as China, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Canada and Mexico. Clete also helped the administration achieve key legislative victories, including the passage of development finance reform legislation and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reform legislation.

Prior to joining the White House, Clete worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for eight years. Among other positions, Clete served as chief counsel for negotiations, legislation and administrative law, and legal advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO. He was heavily involved in both trade policy issues and WTO litigation.

Prior to joining USTR, Clete worked as counsel on the House Budget Committee and in multiple positions, including legislative director, for then-Representative Paul Ryan (R- WI). In this role, he was successful in helping pass multiple pieces of trade and energy- related legislation into law.

In addition to being part of the firm’s public law and policy practice, Clete works closely with the international trade team on issues related to the WTO, CFIUS and sanctions. He has participated in over 30 WTO proceedings.

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. 

Ken 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 Bethesda, MD, with their two daughters.

Thank you to our WITA Academy Sponsors

Law Partner Sponsor

The post China Virtual Intensive Trade Seminar – 7 Sessions over 2 Days appeared first on WITA.

On Friday, October 27, panelists looked at the different approaches to investment restrictions currently making their way through Congress and the Administration. 

In August, the Biden Administration released an Executive Order regarding certain US outbound investments to China in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence that present national security concerns. Treasury has received extensive public comments to its notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the Executive Order, which is just one piece of a wide range of reforms and actions under consideration by the Administration and Congress that could restrict certain outbound investments into critical technologies.

Featured Speakers:

Speaker Biographies:

The post Trade and National Security: China and Outbound Investment in the Crosshairs appeared first on WITA.

The event began with remarks from Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director of WITA, as he introduced the first two panelists: Angela Ellard, Deputy Director-General and World Trade Organization and Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates; former WTO Deputy Director General; and former Deputy USTR.

The panelists of the second panel, “Climate Diplomacy and Trade – a NextGenTrade() discussion”, included Kelly Milton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environmental and Natural Resources, USTR, David Livingston, Managing Director for Clean Energy & Senior Advisor, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Dan Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School – on public service leave at the World Trade Organization, Julio José Prado, Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador, Jo Tyndall, Director, Environment Directorate, OECD, and Moderator Maureen Hinman, Co-Founder, Chairman, Silverado Policy Accelerator.

The third panel of the conference, “Making a More Meaningful TTC in its 3rd Year”, featured speakers Michelangelo Margherita, Head of Trade, Agriculture and Digital Economy in the Delegation of the European Union to the U.S., Jonathan McHale, Vice President, Digital Trade, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Daniel Mullaney, former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East, Jason Oxman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), and Moderator Marjorie Chorlins, Senior Vice President, Europe, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

The fourth panel, “Trade, Supply Chains and Industrial Policy”, included speakers Simon J. Evenett, Professor of International Trade and Economic Development, University of St. Gallen, Founder, St. Gallen Endowment for Prosperity Through Trade, Jimmy Goodrich, Vice President, Global Policy, Semiconductor Industry Association, Hon. Nazak Nikakhtar, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP; Senior Fellow, Center for Technology Diplomacy, Purdue University; and Strategic Advisor, Silverado Policy Accelerator, Scott Paul, President, Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), and Moderator Jonathan Lang, Director for Trade and Supply Chains, Industrial & Consumer, Eurasia Group.

The fifth panel focused on “U.S.-China Strategic and National Security” and included the following panelists: Amy P. Celico, Principal Albright Stonebridge Group, Dentons Global Advisors, Samm Sacks, Senior Fellow, Yale Law School, Paul Tsai China Center, Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Moderator Erin Ennis, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Dell Technologies. 

The start of the second day began with the panel providing an “Update From Congress” with U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ranking Republican, Senate Finance Committee and Moderator Steve Lamar, President & CEO, American Apparel and Footwear Association, and President of the WITA Board of Directors. 

The second panel featured an “Update on the Administration’s Trade Agenda”, Marisa Lago, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade opened the panel with remarks followed by questions from Moderator Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute and Managing Director of the Washington, D.C. Office; and former Acting Deputy United States Trade Representative. 

The closing session of the 2023 Washington International Trade Conference was the “Trade Around the World Ambassadors Roundtable” featuring Hon. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the United States, Hon. Karin Olofsdotter, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States, Ambassador Tamaki Tsukada, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan, Hon. Tanee Sangrat, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States, and Moderator Ambassador Susan Schwab, Strategic Advisor, Mayer Brown LLP; and former United States Trade Representative. 

The post 2023 Washington International Trade Conference Recap appeared first on WITA.

On Wednesday, June 23, WITA hosted Part 2 of our Two Part Series on the G7 and U.S. – EU Summits, in partnership with the Institute for International Economic Policy at The George Washington University.

WITA Webinar Featuring: 

Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States

Ambassador Karen Pierce DCMG, British Ambassador to the United States

Moderator: Daniel M. Price, Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors; former Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis is the Ambassador of the European Union to the United States. From 2012 to February 2019, he served as the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights. In 2011, he was Foreign Affairs Minister of Greece.

Between 2004 and 2011, he was twice elected Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the Greek Social Democratic Party (PASOK). He served as Vice-President of the European Parliament (2009-11), Vice-President of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (2004-09), and Head of the PASOK Delegation (2005-11). Between 2000 and 2004, he was Director-General of the International Olympic Truce Centre, an International Olympic Committee organization.

He served as Ambassador ad personam of the Hellenic Republic (1999-2004); Secretary-General of the Greek Foreign Ministry, responsible for Expatriate Greeks (1996-99); and Chief of Staff to the Greek Foreign Minister (1996). Between 1988 and 1993 he worked as an Attorney at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C., specializing in international trade, transactions, and arbitration.

Mr. Lambrinidis was born in Athens, Greece in 1962. He studied Economics and Political Science at Amherst College (Bachelor of Arts degree, 1984) and Law at Yale Law School (Juris Doctor degree, 1988), where he was also Managing Editor of The Yale Journal of International Law. He is a 1980 graduate of the Athens College High School in Greece. He is married and has a daughter.

Ambassador Karen Pierce DCMG is the British Ambassador to the United States. Before arriving in DC, Pierce was the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Prior to this role, Karen served as the Director General for Political Affairs and Chief Operating Officer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, from 2016.

Karen joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1981. Her first role was in Tokyo between 1984 and 1987, after which she returned to the UK to work in the Security Policy Department. Karen worked in Washington as the Private Secretary to the British Ambassador to the United States between 1992 and 1995. Between 1996 and 2006, Karen held several positions in London including Team Leader for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Deputy Head of Eastern Adriatic (Balkans) Department, Head of Newsroom, Head of EU Department (Bilateral) and concurrently Head of Afghanistan Political Military Unit after 9/11 before returning to the Balkans as Balkans Coordinator from 2002 to 2006.

In 2006, Karen moved to New York for the first time to be the Deputy Permanent Representative and Ambassador at the UK Mission to the UN. In 2009, she returned to London to become the Director of South Asia and Afghanistan Department and the UK’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2012, Karen started her second multilateral role, this time in Geneva, where she was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UK Mission to the United Nations, World Trade Organization and Other International Organisations until 2015. Between 2015 and 2016 Karen was the UK’s Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Daniel M. Price is Managing Director and co-founder of Rock Creek Global Advisors, an international economic policy advisory firm, where he focuses on international regulatory and policy matters. Mr. Price advises multinational companies and financial institutions on trade policy, financial regulatory issues, geopolitical risk, and matters arising in global forums (G7, G20, and APEC).

Previously, Mr. Price served in the Administration of George W. Bush as the senior White House official responsible for international trade and investment, development assistance, and the international aspects of financial reform, energy security, and climate change.

Mr. Price was the President’s personal representative to the G8, the G20 Financial Summit, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. He was US chair of cabinet-level economic dialogues with Brazil, India, and the European Union.

Before and after his White House service, Mr. Price was a partner with Sidley Austin LLP, having founded and chaired the firm’s 60-member International Trade & Dispute Resolution group. Mr. Price counseled multinational companies on trade, investment, national security, and sanctions issues, and represented companies and governments in WTO, investment treaty, and NAFTA disputes. Earlier, Mr. Price served as Principal Deputy General Counsel in the Office of the US Trade Representative and as Deputy Agent to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague.

Mr. Price has appeared on BBC, CNBC, PBS, and Bloomberg TV. His articles have been published in the New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Price was educated at Haverford College, Cambridge University, and Harvard Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Kenneth Levinson is the Executive Director 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. Ken and his wife, the Reverend Donna Marsh, live in Bethesda, MD, with their two daughters.

Michael Moore is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and Department of Economics. Professor Moore was the founding director for both the Elliott School’s International Trade and Investment Policy master’s program, and the Institute for International Economic Policy. Professor Moore received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and obtained a B.A. in Liberal Arts (Plan II) from the University of Texas at Austin.

Professor Moore’s main area of research is trade policy, especially WTO related issues. Recent worked has focused on antidumping use in the developing world, whether carbon tariffs are consistent with WTO rules, and whether trade liberalization has affected the patterns of government spending in developing countries.

He has had a joint appointment with the Elliott School of International Affairs and the Department of Economics at the George Washington University since receiving his doctorate in 1988. He served as associate dean of the Elliott School from 1995 through 1997. He also has taught international economics to US diplomats at the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute.

Professor Moore served as Senior Economist for International Trade at the White House Council of Economic Advisers from July 2002 through July 2003.

He teaches courses at the undergraduate, masters and PhD courses on international economics. For a description of courses, please click here . Professor Moore has also developed a series of Quicktime videos for students wishing to review economics topics.

Professor Moore spent 1984-1985 as a graduate student at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, Germany. During 1994-1995, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Brussels at the Center for European Policy Studies and a German-Marshall Fellow at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (“Sciences-Po”) in Paris. In summer 1998, he was a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore. Professor Moore frequently has taught a course on US Trade Policy to graduate students at Sciences-Po.

Professor Moore speaks German fluently and is proficient in French and Spanish.

He was born in Borger, Texas and later moved to Baytown, Texas. He graduated from Ross Sterling High School in 1975.

Co-Hosted with the Institute for International Economic Policy at The George Washington University 

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On Monday, February 8th, and Tuesday, February 9th, 2021, WITA hosted its third annual Washington International Trade Conference (WITC) for the first time virtually. This conference brought together leaders in both the public and private trade sectors to discuss pressing issues and trends surrounding trade policy. 

The event began with remarks from Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director of WITA, as he introduced the first group of panelists: Wendy Cutler, President and Managing Director at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Susan Shirk, Research Professor at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, Aaron L. Friedberg, Professor of Politics & International Affairs at Princeton University, and Ambassador Kurt Tong, Partner at The Asia Group, who shared their thoughts on how trade fits into the overall US-China relationship. 

The U.S. China panel was primarily focused around the overall US-China relationship and how trade fits into the larger picture. From joining the WTO to now, China has significantly increased its dominance in global trade, economic, and financial markets and has now become a credible threat to U.S. hegemony due to large economic pressure.

Looking forward to the Biden administration, the panelists discussed where we are now in our relationship with China, how the Biden review will be conducted, and how trade fits into this multi-faceted relationship. Over the past few months we have seen RCEP signed, the development of the China EU investment deal, and we have now heard talk about China reviving trilateral negotiations with Japan and Korea. The panelists explored the potential impact of the Biden review and present internal focus on China’s growing hegemonic status. 

The Trade & Environmental Sustainability Panel focused on the growing global concern of climate change and how this issue intersects with trade. As the United States has most recently rejoined the Paris Accords and a variety of new executive orders have underpinned the Biden administration’s focus on mitigating climate change, there has been a shift in the international system on the pertinence of this issue. It is important to recognize where the U.S. and its allies now stand on sustainable policies that influence trade and consider how realistic it would be for less developed countries to accommodate the necessary standard to fight climate change. 

The discussion focused on both the EU and New Zealand’s positions on climate change as they relate to trade and what we should center our negotiations on going forward. Although there is promise with the Biden administration on these issues, it is undetermined what the administration’s nationally determined contribution in the Paris agreement will be which will be an important indicator of the level of emissions and leadership role on climate change. The panelists were Amb. Robert Holleyman, Partner at Crowell & Morning LLP, C&M International, Amb. Vangelis Vitalis, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Madelaine Tuininga, DG Trade Head of Unit in the European Commission, and Himamauli Das, Senior Managing Director at K2 Integrity. 

The next panel centered around finding a way forward on digital trade and delved into the intersection between trade and technology. As more and more countries are considering how they may tax or regulate the space, this issue has become of increasing relevance. As digital tools are a crucial driver of U.S. economic growth, it is clear they present both an incredible opportunity for progress and new challenges. The panelists featured were Arrow Augerot, Director of America’s Public Policy at Amazon, Jason Oxman, President & CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, Sahra English, Vice President of Public Policy at Mastercard, and Peter Swire, Senior Counsel at Alston & Bird LLP. 

The final panel of the day was the Ambassadors Trade Roundtable with panelists: Amb. Susan Schwab, Mayer Brown LLP, Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, British Ambassador to the USA, Amb. Nestor Forster Brazil’s Ambassador to the USA, Amb. Stavros Lambrinidis EU Ambassador to the USA, and Amb. Arthur Sinodinos Australia’s Ambassador to the USA. The ambassadors shed light on the trade landscape from their perspectives and offered insight into what is important in their countries in dealing with the U.S. and other trading partners. The discussion later touched on the future of the WTO and what each ambassador saw as top priorities for the organization to address.

The second day of WITA’s virtual conference program opened with remarks from Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director of WITA and Amb. Alan Wm. Wolff, Deputy Director General of the WTO. Amb. Alan Wolff shared his thoughts on necessary reform and revitalization of the WTO and how its role should evolve. Terence Stewart, author of the blog Current Thoughts on Trade, joined the discussion and gauged Amb. Wolff’s perspective on the WTO’s interest in engaging in more sectoral and regional trade agreements. 

The following panel built off of the previous discussion into a more in-depth conversation about WTO Revitalization & Reform from a broader group of perspectives. Many of the panelists highlighted the importance of improving our relationship with China, getting our dispute settlement system back on track and addressing pertinent 21st century issues such as those involving digital trade and climate change. The panelists featured were Amb. Rufus Yerxa, National Foreign Trade Council, Jennifer Hillman, Council on Foreign Relations, Simon Evenett from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Hiddo Houben, EU Mission to the WTO.

The next panel centered around the question: “What would a Neo-Progressive Trade Agenda look like?” with panelists from around the world. The panel opened with an introductory discussion of how the WTO has lagged in recognizing the intersection of trade with other issues today and the importance of looking at things in a more wholistic way. Some of the speakers brought up issues related to the environment, gender and labor that requires a new model of trade in order to create shared prosperity and growth. The panelists featured were: Catherine Novelli, Listening For America, Beth Baltzan, American Phoenix Trade Advisory Service, Catherine Feingold AFL-CIO International Department, Katrin Kuhlmann, New Markets Lab, and Kimberley Botwright from the World Economic Forum. 

For the closing keynote and discussion of the conference, WITA was pleased to present Chairman Neal of the House Ways & Means Committee who offered his insight into the contours of trade policy in 2021 and Steve Lamar of the American Apparel & Footwear Association and WITA’s Board President. The Chairman stressed the importance of using trade tools to address many of the issues we face today and the promise of the Biden administration to tackle inequities and reassert U.S. leadership.  

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On Wednesday, September 9th, WITA co-hosted a webinar with the American Leadership Initiative (ALI) with Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Member of the House Ways & Means Committee.

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Program Agenda

Welcome and Opening Remarks 

• Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director, Washington International Trade Association

Remarks and Discussion

• Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL), Member of the House Ways & Means Committee
• Moderator: Dr. Orit Frenkel, Executive Director, American Leadership Initiative (ALI)

Followed by:

• Q & A with Audience Moderated by Ken

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The event began with remarks from Andrew Gelfuso, Vice President of Trade Center Management Associates and Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director of WITA. We were fortunate enough to hear Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, as he discussed the dissolution of the appellate body and his thoughts on global dispute settlements going forward. This was followed by an armchair discussion with Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.

The U.S. China panel was primarily focused around how China had changed its own image within the last 20 years and the radical shifts it has made from being relatively closed off to countries who were not direct allies to joining the WTO in 2001. From joining the WTO to now, China has significantly increased its dominance in global trade, economic, and financial markets and has now become a credible threat to U.S. hegemony due to large economic pressure.

Since the Trump administration’s Phase One deal, China has become more cautious as to its approach to its relationship with the United States and there were voiced concerns from all panelists as to China’s willingness to follow through with their end of the agreement let alone get to a Phase Two before the end of the coming general election cycle. The panelists were Wendy Cutler, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, Professor Ann Lee, author of  “What the US Can Learn from China” and “Will China’s Economy Collapse?”, Ambassador Kurt Tong, Partner at The Asia Group, Clete Willems, Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and Douglas M. Bell, Global Trade Policy Leader at Ernst & Young.

The NextGenTrade panel was centered around the evolution of trade due to advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, 3D printing, as well as financial technology developments. While 3D trade was not as disruptive of an invention as was expected with regards to its ability to rapidly manufacture and place highly developed countries over developing ones, the ability of AI to do that was discussed in depth. Another issue that was brought up was blokchain’s ability to carry out anonymous, financial transactions that could skew U.S. financial markets with disruptive, malicious financial technologies from China, Russia, and Iran.

While illegal and purposefully harmful technologies were discussed, there could also be a market for legal and productive digital trade surrounding financial tools bolstered by AI and insured in its ability to be untampered with by blockchain based networks. Which type of digital trade economy develops over the next few years is dependent on which country holds dominance in both financial and economic markets. The panelists were Susan Lund the Director of Research at the McKinsey Global Institute, Julia Nielson the Head of the Development Division at the Trade & Agriculture Directorate, OECD, Paul Triolo the Practice Head of Geo-Technology at the Eurasia Group, and Jake Colvin, Executive Director of the Global Innovation Forum.

The next morning panel was the press roundtable, “Meet the [Trade] Press.” With trade on the forefront of many news outlets, this year was particularly interesting to hear from members of the press. From senior experts to junior correspondents, Ambassador Susan C. Schwab of Mayer Brown LLP moderated a discussion between prominent reporters on current trade topics and trends. Not only were the discussants able to share their experiences with the press, but they also gave their personal insight and predictions for how key trade issues will progress and be resolved. The featured panelists were Jenny Leonard, a junior reporter at Bloomberg News, David Lynch, the Global Economics Correspondent at the Washington Post, James Politi, the World Trade Editor of the Financial Times, and Ana Swanson, a Trade and Economics Correspondent at the New York Times.

Rich Thau, President and Co-Founder of Engagious, started our afternoon sessions with a presentation on his research, “The Swing Voter Project,” which analyzes the thinking and opinions of swing voters of the past two presidential elections. In addition to discussing trends and the demographics of the voters interviewed, he also touched on the issues they found to be most important and most decisive for the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election. He found that in regard to trade policy, it was not necessarily the concept of open trade that these voters were wary about, but more so immigration policy that might accompany it. This was followed by a conversation with Kimberly Ellis, Principal at the Monument Policy Group. They discussed the implications of his research, as well as his predictions for the upcoming election cycle.

Next on the afternoon agenda was, “A Fireside Chat: ‘Tarrified’ of Trade Talks?” Hosts of the Trade Talks podcast Chad Bown, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Soumaya Keynes, the Trade and Globalization Editor for the Economist gave commentary on the troubles of the appellate body of the World Trade Organization. Using a more historical lens, Bown and Keynes analyzed policy of the WTO and gave insight as to what could be done to restore a balanced dispute settlement system in trade.

Ambassador Robert Zoellick gave his remarks in the next session. Zoellick discussed both his pessimism towards the Trump Administration’s global trade plans as well as the degradation of U.S. relations to a multilateral system. Ambassador Zoellick also spoke on the strategic harnessing of all types of trading systems, specifically that the best and most strategically competent trade policy measures would be the ones that can harness regional, bilateral, and multilateral trade networks together instead of dogmatically chasing one. He also advised business owners to innovate supply chains that are more rigid and flexible to the coming era of trade uncertainty. His remarks were followed by a conversation with Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.

The concluding panel, “Trade Around the World,” featured a conversation between foreign ambassadors to the United States on both the conflict surrounding the dispute settlement process of the WTO as well as their take on relations between their countries and the U.S. From discussing the need to establish a rules-based system in trade relations to their countries’ stakes in the global market and foreign direct investment from and into the United States, the panelists gave interesting insight as to the climate of trade policy in years to come. Moderated by Laura Lane, President of Global Public Affairs at UPS, the featured panelists were H.E. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore, H.E. Stavros Labrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Rosemary Banks, Ambassador of New Zealand, and H.E. Fitsum Arega, Ambassador of Ethiopia.

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At an event on October 30, 2019, WITA held an event to discuss how the US government is implementing new laws on foreign investment and export controls on emerging and foundational technologies, as well as the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.

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Meet the Trade Press, Reporters Roundtable

By: James Dail

On January 29^th, 2019 WITA hosted a panel discussion entitled “Meet the Trade Press, Reporters Roundtable” as a part of the inaugural Washington International Trade Conference. In the past, WITA events have featured reporters moderating panels or asking speakers pertinent questions. This event was notable for turning the tables and allowing the audience to ask member of the press about their thoughts on trade issues. The reporters featured in the roundtable discussion were Gina Chon, a Washington Columnist at Reuters Breakingviews, Shawn Donnan, a Senior Writer at Bloomberg, and David Lynch, a Global Economics Correspondent at the Washington Post. Dorothy Dwoskin, the Principal of d2Strategies LLC, was the event’s moderator.

Dorothy Dwoskin opened the roundtable by asking the panelists how the current administration has altered their reporting of trade issues. Shawn Donnan respond to the query first, noting that trade is now an issue at the forefront of public discussion, whereas it had previously been an area that had a slower pace of news and lacked prominent exposure to the public. He stated that much of this shift can be attributed to this administration’s challenge of the long-standing, fundamental assumptions around trade policy. Shawn concluded his thoughts by observing that the diversity of viewpoints within this administration have made reporters unsure if lower-level officials are speaking for the administration or pushing their own agendas.

Gina Chon joined the discussion by echoing this thought, saying that opposing factions within the administration, as well as the President’s tendency to change his opinion based on current circumstance, has made reporting difficult. From there, she altered the discussion by observing that a new aspect of her job is that foreign officials are asking reporters for advice on how to deal with the current administration.

David Lynch answered Dorothy’s question with three main points. He said that the changes fundamentally come down to access, pace, and priority. Access to the USTR has greatly diminished in this administration, due to a fundamental stylistic difference between Robert Lighthizer and previous agency heads. While this change might be good for the USTR, it has made it difficult for reporters to foresee any upcoming policy changes before they actually occur. This lack of access creates chaos in the media when it is coupled with the blitzkrieg-like pace of the administration’s changes in trade policy. Lynch concluded by stating that this issue has been prioritized by the administration, which is attributable to the fact that trade has been one of the few issues that President has maintained a constant position on over the course of several decades.

Mrs. Dwoskin then moved on to her second question, asking how Congress has affected trade policy during this administration. Shawn Donnan answered this by saying that he is curious about two things regarding Congress. The first being if Congress will assert itself differently now that Democrats have control of the House. The second being how the changing grassroots politics of trade will shape Congress’ attitude towards trade issues leading up to the 2020 elections. For though renegotiating trade deals has been one of the signature issues of this administration, polls indicate that trade is more popular than at any time since the 2016 election cycle. Mr. Lynch continued Shawn’s line of thought, saying that he is interested to see if and how a bipartisan consensus towards China develops. If it does, then the President could find himself attacked for being too soft on China. In 2016, he set a high bar for success by using the trade deficit as a metric, and on this front,  he has completely failed to deliver. The trade deficit is higher today than when he first took office.

Gina Chon was the next to speak, saying that whenever she speaks with members of Congress, she is always struck by their hesitancy to confront the President on trade, even when tariffs are hurting businesses in their districts. She also noted that there are anti-trade sentiments within the Democratic Party, citing supporters of Bernie Sanders who were vocally opposed to the TPP at the 2016 DNC. She is curious to note how this will affect trade policy and the politics behind it, both at present and in 2020.

Dorothy Dwoskin shifted the discussion to Gina’s final point by asking about the role of the media in 2020. Is there anything the press can do to correct any public misperception of trade issues? Mr. Lynch largely thought no. He stated that while the Washington Post frequently runs stories about how tariffs are affecting ordinary Americans, and that those stories do quite well, he does not think he is changing any minds. The Post’s audience was largely anti-tariff to begin with.

Mrs. Chon felt that the only way for public perception to dramatically change on trade is for the average voter to experience pain because of protectionist trade policies. While tariffs are costing many firms, they can currently absorb those costs and are not in immediate danger of bankruptcy.

Shawn diverged from Gina’s view that drastic pain, such as factory closings, are needed for a change in pubic perception. He believes the general public views trade deficits in the same lens as the President, as a statement of profit and loss. Policy is complex. Relying on explaining it effectively to the public will always be a losing battle. Because of this, he wonders if tariffs might be necessary every few decades to remind the public that it is a bad policy. However, he is relieved to notice that both on Twitter and in his day to day interactions, the public seems to be changing its mind. David Lynch added to Gina and Shawn’s thoughts by saying that, while the backlash to tariffs has clearly begun, it will change further with the economic landscape. While it might be easy for firms to absorb costs now, many will begin to close if the US economy slides into a recession.

Dorothy’s next question pivoted the discussion to the China negotiations. She noted that this administration keeps things close to its chest, and she asked the reporters what signals they look for to see if any changes are about to occur. David responded by echoing that the administration had made things more difficult than usual. He went on to say that in the best-case scenario, an announcement comes from the USTR saying that things are moving along wonderfully and that the two nations are close to a deal. In the worst-case, an announcement comes saying that the two parties are still at an impasse. However, he is doubtful that any announcement will occur in the near future.

Mr. Donnan added to this by shifting to the particulars of what a potential deal might look like. He believes that the type of deal America receives is dependent on how the markets are performing. China is facing a slowdown, and ideally, they will want to be able to make a deal that is presentable to the public and can generate growth. Another factor that needs to be considered is that Trump is coming off of a shutdown defeat, and he does not want to look weak. However, he agrees with Mr. Lynch in that a deal is likely still far off. The announcements so far indicate that the negotiations are still at their early stages, as the two parties do not yet have a common document in place where they are discussing details.

Mrs. Chon stated that another aspect that should be considered is that the Chinses delegation will most likely meet with the President at some point, and she is curious to know how the President’s positions are different from the USTR’s. In addition, she echoed Mr. Donnan’s sentiments about China’s need to present this to their public as a win.

In her next question, Mrs. Dwoskin further pursued this area of discussion, asking what the differences are in how the US and China are framing the negotiations. Mr. Lynch stated that the Chinese get more proactive with their public relations with every passing year, but they are not nearly as aggressive in this area as a Western media institution. He then said that the lack of an organized policy process coming out of the Trump administration as made it easy for the US media pundits to spin whatever message out of the negotiations that they like and present what they think the administration’s position ought to be. Gina Chon added to this by saying that a crucial portion of the media narrative in both countries is the aftermath of the FBI’s arrest of Huawei’s CFO, and that it is fictional to suggest that it will not affect the trade negotiations in any way.

Dorothy moved the discussion to the 232 tariffs, asking how they specifically will play into the negotiations and affect the other items on the administration’s agenda. Shawn Donnan answered first, stating that he believes the steel and aluminum tariffs could negatively affect the trilateral relationship of the US, EU, and Japan at the WTO if the US comes out of these negotiations with the tariffs in place in any form. The reason this could be damaging is because Trump promised Abe on multiple occasions that the tariffs would be removed. Furthermore, Donnan believes that the tariffs negatively affecting the auto industry will likely factor into the negotiations in some form. General Motors is laying off thousands of workers throughout February, and while the layoffs are not directly attributable to the tariffs, the higher cost they bring is certainly not helping the situation. Given that these layoffs are occurring in Midwestern swing states, the President will likely want to produce a deal that is beneficial to the automobile industry and betters his political situation.

Following these comments from Mr. Donnan, the panel moved on to question and answer. The first question asked pertained to how Republicans and Democrats will each frame the narrative of the trade negotiations leading up to the 2020 election cycle. David Lynch answered this by saying that the President will argue that he has accomplished what he promised in 2016 by ending and altering existing US trade deals. The Democrats will respond to this narrative by arguing that the President set the bar high for himself and that he did not accomplish what he promised. They will point to the President’s use of the trade deficit as a metric for how the country is performing on trade and how it has grown during his tenure.

Shawn Donnan posed his own question to the audience, asking if America’s depleted manufacturing communities are better off than when the President took office. The Democrats are going to ask the voters in these communities if the President has delivered on his promises. However, he also argued that trade will become a subsidiary issue by 2020, noting that other events and policy ideas are featured more prominently on the front page.

Gina Chon believes that the rhetoric in 2020 will be predicated on the results of the 2018 midterms. She noted that many traditionally blue districts that voted for Trump in 2016 returned to the Democrats in 2018. She stated that a key driver of this shift has been the blowback to the President’s tariff policies in states such as Michigan, which were crucial to his original victory.

The second question asked was addressed to Mr. Donnan, asking about why he thought trade issues will be out of the headlines by 2020. Shawn responded by expanding upon his views, stating that while the debate over trade might not vanish, it now seems to have been tabled in political debate. The media is consumed by the Russian investigation, and the barrage of leaks coming out of the White House. Simultaneously, policy debate has shifted towards proposals from the Democrats such as Medicare for all and the Green New Deal.

The concluding question was addressed to the panel broadly, asking the reporters if they believe that Trump will follow through with his threat to completely destroy NAFTA. The three panelists all gave variations of the same answer. They all believed that it will most likely not occur, but the possibility cannot be ruled out entirely. If this was to occur, it would most probably be used as political leverage if the President did not have a favorable policy outcome on another issue.

Featuring:

Dorothy Dwoskin, Principal, d2 Strategies LLC

Gina Chon, Washington Columnist, Reuters Breakingviews

Shawn Donnan, Senior Writer, Bloomberg News

David Lynch, Global Economics Correspondent, The Washington Post

To view more details about the event, visit the event page here.

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