On Thursday, November 16, WITA hosted former United States Trade Representative Carla A. Hills for a virtual Fireside Chat with Ambassador Rufus Yerxa.

This webinar was part a series of one-on-one discussions with prominent figures in the trade world discussing the new paradigm in U.S. trade policy, and its implications for the U.S. and the World.

Featured Speakers:

Ambassador Carla A. Hills, Chair & CEO, Hills & Company International Consultants; former U.S. Trade Representative; former Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development; former Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates; former WTO Deputy Director General; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Speaker Biographies:

Carla A. Hills is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hills & Company, International Consultants. The firm provides advice to U.S. businesses on investment, trade, and risk assessment issues abroad, particularly in emerging market economies.

Mrs. Hills served as United States Trade Representative from 1989 to 1993. As a member of President Bush’s Cabinet, Mrs. Hills was the President’s principal advisor on international trade policy. She was also the nation’s chief trade negotiator, representing American interests in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations throughout the world.

She led the U.S. negotiations in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks, concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement, and entered into a large number of trade and investment agreements with countries all around the world.

Earlier, Mrs. Hills served as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Ford Administration (the third woman to hold a Cabinet position). She also served as Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

Over the past 25 years Mrs. Hills has served on a number of corporate boards of directors. She currently serves on the International Boards of J.P. Morgan Chase, Rolls Royce, and the Coca-Cola Company and is a member of the Board of Gilead Sciences. Mrs. Hills is also actively involved with a number of eleemosynary organizations, serving as Co-Chair of the Council on Foreign Relations, of the Inter American Dialogue, and of the International Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Chair of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; member of the Executive Committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and of the Trilateral Commission; and a member of the board of the International Crisis Group, among others.

Before entering government, Mrs. Hills co-founded and was partner of Munger, Tolles, and Hills, a Los Angeles law firm. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles Law School, teaching antitrust law, and co-authored the Antitrust Adviser, which was published by McGraw-Hill.

Ambassador Hills resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Roderick. They are the parents of four children and the grandparents of five children.

Rufus Yerxa is Senior Advisor at McLarty Associates. He has been a prominent figure in international trade policy for more than four decades. He served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under two Administrations and spent more than a decade as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has also served in the private sector as a trade lawyer and as head of a leading business association in Washington. His areas of expertise include the functioning of the WTO system and other international agreements, bilateral and regional economic relations, international investment matters and U.S. trade law.

Ambassador Yerxa began his government career as a lawyer with the U.S. International Trade Commission before joining the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Staff Director of its Subcommittee on Trade.

From 1989 to 1995 he served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with the rank of Ambassador, first as head of USTR’s Permanent Mission to the GATT in Geneva under President George H.W. Bush and subsequently as Washington Deputy during the Clinton Administration. He was instrumental in negotiations to replace GATT with the WTO in 1995 and to create the original NAFTA accord (now USMCA).

After leaving government service he practiced law for a major U.S. firm in Brussels. In 2002 he was appointed to serve as Deputy Director General of the WTO. During his long tenure he helped to broaden its membership and strengthen various aspects of its rulemaking function.

From 2016 to 2021, he was President of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), a Washington-based industry association focused on expanding global markets for U.S. companies and strengthening the rule of law in world trade.

He was a Visiting Professor and Adjunct Professor with the Middlebury Institute for International Studies from 2013 to 2018, where he taught courses on international trade and the WTO system.

Ambassador Yerxa is a native of Washington State. He holds a BA from the University of Washington, a JD from Seattle University and an LLB in International Law from the University of Cambridge.

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On Thursday, November 9, WITA hosted Ambassador Rufus Yerxa for a virtual Fireside Chat with former United States Trade Representative Michael Froman.

This event was the first in a series of one-on-one discussions with prominent figures in the trade world discussing the new paradigm in U.S. trade policy, and its implications for the U.S. and the World.

Featured Speakers:

Ambassador Michael Froman, President, Council on Foreign Relations; former U.S. Trade Representative; former Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth, Mastercard

Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates; former WTO Deputy Director General; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Speaker Biographies:

Michael Froman is President of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He previously served as vice chairman and president, strategic growth, at Mastercard, chairman of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and a distinguished fellow at CFR. 

Ambassador Froman served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the U.S. trade representative from June 2013 to January 2017. Major initiatives under his leadership included the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in the Asia Pacific and negotiations toward a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union; the negotiation of agreements on trade facilitation, agriculture and information technology products at the World Trade Organization; the monitoring and enforcement of U.S. trade rights; and congressional passage of Trade Promotion Authority, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences program, and the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act.

From January 2009 to June 2013, Froman served at the White House as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs, where he was responsible for coordinating policy on international trade, finance, energy, climate change, and development issues. He served as the U.S. sherpa for the Group of Twenty and Group of Eight Summits and staffed the president for the APEC Leaders Meetings. In addition, he chaired or co-chaired the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, the Transatlantic Economic Council, the U.S.-India CEO Forum, and the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum. He played a leading role in the launch of several of the Obama administration’s development initiatives, including Power Africa and Trade Africa.

Prior to joining the Obama administration, Froman served in a number of roles at Citigroup, including as chief executive officer of its international insurance business, chief operating officer of its alternative investments business, and head of its infrastructure investment business. He also has served as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

In the 1990s, Froman spent seven years in the U.S. government. He served as chief of staff and deputy assistant secretary for Eurasia and the Middle East at the U.S. Department of Treasury. He also worked at the White House, where he served as a director for international economic affairs at the National Security Council and National Economic Council.

Dr. Froman received a bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

He has published a book and several articles on international relations, international law and trade. He has received numerous fellowships and scholarships, including a White House Fellowship, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in International Law, a Social Science Research Council/MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in International Peace and Security, and a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2016, he was selected by Fortune magazine as one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” and by Politico as one of the “50 thinkers, doers and visionaries shaping American politics in 2016.”

Froman was born in California. He, his wife, Nancy Goodman, and their two children, Benjamin and Sarah, currently reside in Washington, DC.

Rufus Yerxa is Senior Advisor at McLarty Associates. He has been a prominent figure in international trade policy for more than four decades. He served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under two Administrations and spent more than a decade as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has also served in the private sector as a trade lawyer and as head of a leading business association in Washington. His areas of expertise include the functioning of the WTO system and other international agreements, bilateral and regional economic relations, international investment matters and U.S. trade law.

Ambassador Yerxa began his government career as a lawyer with the U.S. International Trade Commission before joining the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Staff Director of its Subcommittee on Trade.

From 1989 to 1995 he served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with the rank of Ambassador, first as head of USTR’s Permanent Mission to the GATT in Geneva under President George H.W. Bush and subsequently as Washington Deputy during the Clinton Administration. He was instrumental in negotiations to replace GATT with the WTO in 1995 and to create the original NAFTA accord (now USMCA).

After leaving government service he practiced law for a major U.S. firm in Brussels. In 2002 he was appointed to serve as Deputy Director General of the WTO. During his long tenure he helped to broaden its membership and strengthen various aspects of its rulemaking function.

From 2016 to 2021, he was President of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), a Washington-based industry association focused on expanding global markets for U.S. companies and strengthening the rule of law in world trade.

He was a Visiting Professor and Adjunct Professor with the Middlebury Institute for International Studies from 2013 to 2018, where he taught courses on international trade and the WTO system.

Ambassador Yerxa is a native of Washington State. He holds a BA from the University of Washington, a JD from Seattle University and an LLB in International Law from the University of Cambridge.

The post WITA Spotlight Event: Former United States Trade Representative Michael Froman appeared first on WITA.

On Wednesday, October 25, Steve reflected on his nearly 60 years in trade policy in a discussion with WITA Board Members, Nicole Bivens Collinson and Katrin Kuhlmann.

Steve’s career started in 1964 as a graduate assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade. Upon graduation, he joined the Foreign Service where he served in Greece and Luxembourg, as well as the Offices of General Commercial Policy and the Office of Textiles. He joined the Office of the United States Trade Representative in 1973. In his decade at USTR he served as chief bilateral trade negotiator for the United States. His work spanned the globe, including work on the Tokyo Round of the GATT, U.S. trade with Japan, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council, ASEAN, and the Americas. Steve’s most lasting contributions have been in U.S. and global trade with lesser developed countries, both in government, academia, and as founder and President of Manchester Trade.

At the end of the webinar, friends and colleagues of Steve made an appearance to share their stories of working with Steve throughout the years. Those who spoke were Jorge Castro, Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the WTO; Erastus Mwencha, Board Chair of Trademark AFRICA; and Jon Rosenbaum, former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade and Development.

Featured Speakers:

Nicole Bivens Collinson, Managing Principal, Operating Committee, and International Trade and Government Relations Practice Leader, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

Katrin Kuhlmann, Visiting Professor of Law; Faculty Co-Director, Center on Inclusive Trade and Development, Georgetown Law; Member, Trade Advisory Committee on Africa, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Stephen Lande, President, Manchester Trade

Speaker Biographies:

Stephen Lande is President at Manchester Trade. Steve’s career started in 1964 at the John Hopkins School of Advanced international Studies as a graduate assistant to Dr. Isaiah Frank, former Deputy Assistant of State for Trade.

Upon graduation, he joined the Foreign Service in 1966 where he served in Greece and Luxembourg, as well as the Offices of General Commercial Policy and the Office of Textile at State. He then joined the Office of the United States Trade Representative in 1973. In his decade at USTR he became the first of a long line of Assistant USTRs and was named chief bilateral trade negotiator for the United States. His work spanned the globe, including work on the Tokyo Round of the GATT, U.S. trade with Japan, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council, ASEAN, and the Americas. Steve’s most lasting contributions have been in U.S. and global trade with lesser developed countries, both in government, academia, and as founder and President of Manchester Trade.

In his tenure at USTR and in the private sector, Steve played a key role in initiating, negotiating and implementing GSP, CBI, FTAs with Israel, Chile, and Canada, NAFTA, DR-CAFTA and AGOA.  Steve is proud of his efforts to shift the focus of US trade away from MFN and multilateral trade to one deepening bilateral and plurilateral relations.

Steve has his own negotiating techniques combining New York or Nigerian brashness, State Department finesse, and USTR bottom line precision. He has provocative ideas on how to deal with the current crisis in confidence over trade negotiations, the rise of protectionism and pseudo- protectionism.

Since leaving the government, Steve has been President of a 40-year-old boutique trade policy consulting firm, Manchester Trade Limited Inc (MTL). He has advised on implications for companies and governments of most of the major trade events since he founded the firm. Recently given the dearth of new trade negotiations, the firm has focused on transactional business especially in Africa as well as the Caribbean and the Americas. 

Nicole Bivens Collinson is President of the International Trade & Government Relations at Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, P. A. She leads the International Trade and Government relations practice of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., and serves as managing principal of the Washington, D.C., office. She is also a member of the firm’s Operating Committee and a commentator on trade matters on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. She is the lead professional on ST&R’s engagement as legislative counsel to the National Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA).

Prior to joining ST&R Ms. Collinson served as assistant chief negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, responsible for the negotiation of bilateral agreements with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Sub-Continent, and Africa. She also served as a country specialist in the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, where she was responsible for the preparation of negotiations on specific topics between the U.S. and Latin America, Eastern Europe, China, and Hong Kong as well as the administration of complex textile agreements.

Ms. Collinson holds a master’s degree in international relations from The George Washington University and a triple bachelor’s degree in political science, European studies, and French from Georgetown College. She also studied at the Université de Caen in France. She is past chair of the Women in International Trade Charitable Trust, past president of Women in International Trade, an advisory board member of America’s TradePolicy.com, treasurer and board member of the Washington International Trade Association, and a member of the Washington International Trade Association Foundation and Women in Government Relations. She serves on the board of trustees for Georgetown College and is the past executive director for the U.S. Hosiery Manufacturers Coalition, the U.S. Apparel Industry Coalition, and the U.S. Sock Distributors Coalition. She is conversant in both French and Spanish.

Katrin Kuhlmann is currently a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is also the Faculty Co-Director of the Center on Inclusive Trade and Development. She teaches courses in law, development, and international trade, and she is the faculty director of the WTO and International Trade Law Certificate program. Professor Kuhlmann has over twenty-five years of experience in international law, development, and trade. Her work and research focus on trade and development, regional trade agreements (with a particular focus on Africa), trade and gender, inclusive agricultural trade, comparative economic law, and the interdisciplinary connections between law and development.

In 2010, Professor Kuhlmann founded the New Markets Lab (NML), of which she remains president, a non-profit law and development innovation lab focused on inclusive legal and regulatory design, field-based law and development programs, and capacity building among lawyers and non-lawyers in economic law and regulation. She is also a Senior Associate with the Global Food Security Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and she serves as a member of the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). She is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and WTO Gender Research Hub, and she serves on the boards and advisory boards of the Trade and Investment Law Group of the Law Schools Global League; the Forum on Trade, Environment, and the SDGs of the Graduate Institute and UN Environment Programme; the Washington International Trade Association; Listening for America; the Harvard Law and Development Society; the AI Institute for Food Systems at University of California Davis; and the Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Professor Kuhlmann was previously a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School, and she was the Yeutter Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law from 2020-21. Earlier in her career, she served as a trade negotiator at USTR and a lawyer at two international law firms, and she has held senior positions with several non-profit organizations and think tanks, including the Aspen Institute, German Marshall Fund, and an NGO focused on women’s rights. She holds degrees from Harvard Law School and Creighton University and was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to study international economics.

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