On October 1, WITA hosted the Trade Around the World – U.S. Trade Initiatives panel as part of the 2024 WITA Academy Virtual Intensive Trade Seminar.

Featured Speakers:

Marjorie Chorlins, Senior Vice President, Europe, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Wendy Cutler, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) Washington, D.C. Office; former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Eric Farnsworth, Head of the Washington Office of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society

Florizelle Liser, President and CEO, Corporate Council on Africa

Moderator: Penny Naas, Lead, GMF Allied Competitiveness, German Marshall Fund

Speaker Biographies:

Marjorie A. Chorlins is the senior vice president for Europe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She develops policies and executes programs related to trade and investment with Europe. With more than 30 years of experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, Chorlins has focused on forging consensus among competing points of view. She has represented the U.S. government in multilateral trade negotiations, advocated in support of global sales, consulted with multinational corporations on corporate responsibility, and helped foster a robust transatlantic relationship. Chorlins began her federal government service in the office of former Sen. John C. Danforth (R-MO), where she participated in drafting the 1988 Trade Act and the 1989 implementing legislation for the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. She continued her government service as principal deputy assistant secretary for Import Administration at the Department of Commerce, representing the U.S. in the GATT Uruguay Round and NAFTA negotiations. Chorlins then became director for international trade relations at Motorola Inc. She played a leadership role in early business community efforts to normalize U.S.-China commercial relations and was an early proponent of a balanced approach in addressing commercial, human rights, and environmental priorities. Subsequently, Chorlins served as executive vice president of Business for Social Responsibility, which provides technical assistance on socially responsible business practices. She later rejoined Motorola’s government relations organization as senior director of advocacy and global strategy, leveraging political resources to support the company’s international sales and resolve matters of strategic importance to the corporation. Chorlins also served as director of government and regulatory affairs at Lockheed Martin, where she managed the international portfolio and focused on export control reform and defense trade policy. Chorlins holds an M.A. in international relations and economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in French from Wellesley College.

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.

Eric Farnsworth is the Head of the Washington office of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society. He leads with a passion for promoting the importance of the Western Hemisphere for U.S. economic, security, and strategic interests. A recognized expert, he maintains an important policy leadership and advocacy role across a broad range of issues, including U.S. relations, economic development, trade, and energy; Asia-Latin American relations and global governance; and security and democracy. He consults frequently with senior U.S. government and foreign officials and private sector leaders, is a widely sought conference speaker and media commentator, and publishes regularly in leading newspapers and journals.

Prior to the Council, Mr. Farnsworth served in government with the U.S. Department of State, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Clinton White House. He also worked with U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). His private sector experiences include ManattJones Global Strategies and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Corporation. He has been decorated by the Governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Spain, and is an elected Academic Correspondent of Uruguay.

Florizelle (Florie) Liser is the third President and CEO of CCA. Ms. Liser brings expertise and an extensive network on trade and Africa to her new role, along with a strong track record of working with the private sector to translate policy into action. She is the first woman to lead the Council since its founding in 1993. Ms. Liser joined CCA from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa since 2003. At USTR, she led trade and investment policy towards 49 sub-Saharan African nations and oversaw implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Previously, Ms. Liser served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications from 2000-2003. She also served as Senior Trade Policy Advisor in the Office of International Transportation and Trade at the Department of Transportation from 1987-2000; worked as a Director in USTR’s Office of GATT Affairs, and served as an Associate Fellow at the Overseas Development Council (ODC) from 1975-1980. Currently, Ms. Liser serves as a re-appointed member of the 2023-2024 Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee for the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) where she previously served from 2019-2021. Ms. Liser also served as co-chair of the Advisory Council for the Millennium Challenge Corporation and has also served as a Board member for the Women in International Trade (WIIT). Ms. Liser holds a M.A. in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from Dickinson College.

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

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

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

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On Wednesday, April 17, WITA hosted a panel to discuss what we might see on trade policy in a second Biden or Trump term as President. This event featured senior trade officials who served in key roles at USTR and the White House in the Biden and Trump Administrations.

Featured Speakers:

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 (2021-2022)

Greta Peisch, Partner, Wiley Rein; former General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (2021-2024)

Kelly Ann Shaw, Partner, Hogan Lovells; Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School; former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy National Economic Council Director at the White House (2018-2019)

Stephen Vaughn, Partner, King & Spalding; former General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (2017-2019)

Moderator: David Lynch, Global Economics Correspondent, The Washington Post

Speaker Biographies:

Peter E. Harrell is a nonresident 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.

David J. Lynch joined The Washington Post in November 2017 from the Financial Times, where he covered white-collar crime. He was previously the cybersecurity editor at Politico and a senior writer with Bloomberg News, focusing on the intersection of politics and economics. Earlier, he followed the global economy for USA Today, where he was the founding bureau chief in both London and Beijing. He covered the wars in Kosovo and Iraq, the latter as an embedded reporter with the U.S. Marines, and was the paper’s first recipient of a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University. He has reported from more than 60 countries.

Greta Peisch is the General Counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Ms. Peisch has served as Senior International Trade Counsel on the Senate Finance Committee for Chairman Wyden since 2015. Previously, she served in USTR’s Office of the General Counsel, including as Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation and Administrative Law. Before that, she clerked for Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and practiced law at Covington and Burling LLP. She earned her JD from Yale Law School and AB from Dartmouth College.

Kelly Ann Shaw is a partner at Hogan Lovells. She brings to bear a deep knowledge of international trade, investment, economic law, and policy drawn from her extensive public service at the White House, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. Congress. Most recently, Kelly Ann served as deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration. While in the White House, Kelly Ann led the Office of International Economic Affairs for both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, responsible for coordinating and advising the president on issues related to international trade, investment, development, energy, environment, and global economics. Kelly Ann also served as the lead negotiator (“sherpa”) for the United States at the G7, G20, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forums and played an instrumental role in a wide range of legislation, negotiations, and agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the China phase one agreement. Prior to the administration, Kelly Ann served as Republican trade counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means, where she played a key role in formulating legislation, policy, and strategy. While at USTR, she served as assistant general counsel in both Geneva, Switzerland, and Washington, D.C., where she represented the United States in more than 40 World Trade Organization disputes and in negotiations. She also served as a lead lawyer, negotiator, and adviser in other important international negotiations, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Kelly Ann is currently a partner with Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., as well as a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches a course on the history of U.S. trade policy. She is a frequent speaker and commentator and provides clients strategic advice on a range of legal, economic, and national security issues.

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.

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.

The post Biden 2.0 or Trump 2.0? What We Might Expect on Trade Policy in a Second Term appeared first on WITA.

On Monday, February 12th, and Tuesday, February 13th, 2024, WITA hosted its sixth annual Washington International Trade Conference (WITC). This conference brought together leaders in international trade from across the U.S. and around the world to explore the trade landscape and look toward the future of trade.

DAY 2 OF THE WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL TRADE CONFERENCE 

To download the full program, click here.

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On Monday, February 13th, and Tuesday, February 14th, 2023, WITA hosted its fifth annual Washington International Trade Conference (WITC). This conference brought together leaders in international trade from across the U.S. and around the world to explore the trade landscape and look toward the future of trade.

Day 2 of the Washington International Trade Conference 

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

On Wednesday, March 23, WITA partnered with the Institute for International Economic Policy for a hybrid event. Former Congressman James Bacchus discussed that the World Trade Organization is undergoing an existential crisis. He highlighted that this global organization can survive and will continue to succeed but only if the trade links among WTO members are revitalized and reimagined. He explained how to bring the WTO into the twenty-first century, exploring the ways it can be utilized to combat future pandemics and climate change and advance sustainable development, all while continuing to foster free trade.

Featured Remarks:

Alyssa Ayres, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, former senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia and current adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations

Discussion Featuring:

James Bacchus, Distinguished University Professor of Global Affairs, Director of the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity of the University of Central Florida, founding judge and twice Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization

Moderator: Jay Shambaugh, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. 

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES:

Alyssa Ayres is the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Before joining the Elliott School, she was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia under the Obama administration. She holds a Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.

James Bacchus is a Distinguished University Professor of Global Affairs and Director of the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity of the University of Central Florida. He was a founding judge and was twice Chairman – the chief judge – of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization. He is a former Member of the Congress of the United States, from Florida, and a former US trade negotiator.

He serves on the United States Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, served on the High-Level Advisory Panel to the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, chaired the global council on governance for sustainability of the World Economic Forum, and chaired the Commission on Trade and Investment Policy of the International Chamber of Commerce.

He is adjunct scholar for the Cato Institute in Washington, DC; global fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada; distinguished fellow of the European Institute for International Law and International Relations, and Pao Yue-Kong University Chair Professor of international law at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

Professor Bacchus is the author of Trade and Freedom (London: Cameron May, 2004); The Willing World: Shaping and Sharing a Sustainable Global Prosperity (London: Cambridge University Press, 2018), named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by the Financial Times of London; and, with co-author Inu Manak, The Development Dimension: Special and Differential Treatment in Trade (London: Routledge Press, 2021). His new book, Trade Links: New Rules for a New World, will be published by Cambridge University Press in early 2022.

Jay Shambaugh is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs, and Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

His area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. He has had two stints in public service. He served as a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 2015-2017. Earlier, he served on the staff of the CEA as a Senior Economist for International Economics and then as the Chief Economist. He also spent 3 years as the Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Jay is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER and Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings.

Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Jay taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and was a visiting scholar at the IMF. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

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As in prior years, this was an OFF-THE-RECORD discussion of the critical trade issues that Congress may address in the coming year.

WITA Webinar Featuring:

Sally Laing, Chief International Trade Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Democratic Staff

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

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

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

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Sally Laing is the Chief International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on the Democratic Staff, serving as an advisor to Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and to Democratic Senators on the Committee. In this position Sally and her counterparts work to provide oversight of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Commerce on trade issues. She also advises on a variety of trade matters, including negotiations and implementation of U.S. free trade agreements, operation of U.S trade and customs laws, World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, and similar matters. Before working for Ranking Member Wyden, Sally served as an Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. In this capacity Sally was responsible for the development and litigation of several U.S. disputes against China at the WTO. Sally also participated in the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement negotiations, providing legal support on the sanitary and phytosanitary, agriculture, and other chapters. Before working for the U.S. government, Sally was in private practice specialising in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, trade policy, and customs matters. Sally holds bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

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

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

Before joining the Committee staff in 2016, Mr. Snead was in private practice at King & Spalding in Washington, DC, specializing in trade litigation and policy. Previously, he represented U.S. pork producers on trade policy matters as an International Trade Specialist at the National Pork Producers Council.

Mr. Snead holds a JD and an MBA from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Gordon College.

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

Before joining the Committee staff, Alexandra was Assistant General Counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with responsibility for providing legal counsel and policy guidance on a wide-variety of international trade matters, as well as litigating trade remedies and agricultural disputes before the WTO. During her time at USTR, Alexandra also served as Assistant Legal Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was a U.S. negotiator for the WTO dispute settlement reform negotiations and represented the United States in all disputes and disputes-related matters before the WTO.

Alexandra previously worked as an environmental attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and counsel for a trade association.

She is a graduate of Spelman College and Howard University School of Law.

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On Monday, January 31st, and Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, WITA hosted its fourth annual Washington International Trade Conference (WITC). This conference brought together leaders in international trade from across the U.S. and around the world to explore the trade landscape and look toward the future of trade.

 Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Moderator: Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, President & COO, Business Roundtable; former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union 

Aik Hoe Lim, Director, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization

Kelly K. Milton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Environment and Natural Resources

Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta, Costa Rica’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, Co-Chair, Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), World Trade Organization

Moderator: Sarah Stewart, Executive Director, Silverado Policy Accelerator; former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Environment and Natural Resources

Angela Ellard, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Moderator: Ambassador Rufus Yerxa, former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative; former Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization

Amy P. Celico, Principal Albright Stonebridge Group | Dentons Global Advisors; former Senior Director for China Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Bonnie Glaser, Director of the Asia Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Samm Sacks, Senior Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center & New America, Yale Law School

Moderator: Erin Ennis, Vice President, Global Public Policy, Dell Technologies

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Canadian Ambassador to the United States

Ambassador Tomita Koji, Japanese Ambassador to the United States

Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, European Union Ambassador to the United States

Moderator: Ambassador Susan Schwab, Strategic Advisor, Mayer Brown LLP; former U.S. Trade Representative

Orit Frenkel, CEO, American Leadership Initiative

Ed Gresser, Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)

Jeffrey Kucik, Associate Professor, School of Government and Public Policy at University of Arizona

Chad Thompson, Executive Director for Legal Affairs & Trade, General Motors

Moderator: Sarah Thorn, Senior Director of Global Government Affairs, Walmart

Jon Gold, Vice President of Supply Chain and Customs Policy, National Retail Federation

Phil Levy, Chief Economist, Flexport

Penny Naas, President of International Public Affairs and Sustainability, UPS

Maria Zieba, Assistant Vice President of International Affairs, National Pork Producers Council

Moderator: Ana Swanson, Correspondent, New York Times

Ambassador Sarah Bianchi, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Partner & President & CEO, Crowell & Moring LLP and C&M International; Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

The post 2022 Washington International Trade Conference Recap appeared first on WITA.

On Wednesday, November 3, WITA and the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University discussed the potential for the UK and China to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

WITA Webinar Featuring:

The Honorable Tim Groser, former Ambassador of New Zealand to the United States and the WTO, and New Zealand’s former Minister of Trade

Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Acting Deputy United States Trade Representative

Shanker Singham, CEO, Competere; former Advisor, UK Secretary of State for International Trade; Member, DIT Trade and Agriculture Commission; Academic Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs

Moderator: Jay Shambaugh, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University, and former Member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Ambassador Tim Groser has since 2008 served as New Zealand’s Minister of Trade, Minister for Climate Change Issues and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Prior to his appointment as a Member of Parliament in 2005, Mr Groser held a range of senior trade and economic roles within the New Zealand civil service, including Chief Negotiator for New Zealand during the Uruguay Round from 1990 to 1994, Principal Economic Adviser to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1997-1999, and New Zealand Ambassador to the WTO from 2002-2005.

From 1994 to 1997 Mr Groser served as New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia and from 1992-2002 was Chief Executive of the Asia-NZ Foundation.

This includes extensive experience within the GATT and WTO where he was appointed to a number of significant roles, including as Chair of the Rules and Agriculture Negotiations. In both international trade as well as a range of other international negotiations, Mr Groser has demonstrated his ability in promoting consensus solutions to a wide array of complex issues.

Mr Groser has throughout his career demonstrated his intimate appreciation of the multilateral trading system and remains committed to ensuring the WTO continues to play its essential role for the future.

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 building ASPI’s presence in the nation’s capital and 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.

Shanker Singham leads the International Trade and Competition Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He is Chairman and CEO of Competere Group. He was formerly a Director at the Legatum Institute and the managing director of the Competitiveness and Enterprise Cities project at Babson Global. The Competitiveness and Enterprise Development (CED) Project at Babson Global works with developers and governments in developing countries to put in place the necessary regulatory environment and infrastructure that will spur economic growth through the creation of Enterprise Cities. 

As one of the world’s leading trade and competition lawyers, he has worked on the privatisation of the UK electricity market, the transition of the Soviet, Central and Eastern European economies and the apertura in Latin America. He has worked on the accession of Poland and Hungary to the EU and the WTO accessions of a number of countries, including China and Russia. He led the global market access/WTO practices of Steel Hector and Davis in Miami, and Squire Sanders in Washington, DC. He has lived in London, Hong Kong, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Boston. 

Jay Shambaugh is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs and Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University. Shambaugh’s area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. His work includes analysis of the interaction of exchange rate regimes with monetary policy, capital flows, and trade flows as well as studies of international reserves holdings, country balance sheet exchange rate exposure, the cross-country impact of fiscal policy, the crisis in the euro area, and regional growth disparities.

He has had two stints in public service. He served as a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 2015-2017. Earlier, he served on the staff of the CEA as a Senior Economist for International Economics and then as the Chief Economist. He also spent 3 years as the Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER and Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings.

Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Shambaugh taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and was a visiting scholar at the IMF. Shambaugh received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

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On Thursday, September 23, we discussed if a “less trade-restrictive” values-based trade policy can be achieved within a rules-based international trading system. We asked questions if trade policy should address legitimate social, humanitarian and environmental goals, and can it be done in a way that stays true to the non-discrimination principles of the original GATT Agreement? Can these objectives be achieved in a way that is consistent with the GATT Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, that they are not “more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfill the legitimate objective[s]?”

Katrin Kuhlmann, President and Founder, New Markets Lab; Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

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On July 15, 2021 we examined what trade policies (and legislation) should be adopted or adapted to prioritize the needs of American workers. We also discussed how trade agreements and legislation can be re-imagined to improve the well-being of workers, and what a re-imaged trade policy might look like.

WITA Webinar Featuring: 

Laura M. Baughman, President, The Trade Partnership and Trade Partnership Worldwide; Author, “Imports Work for American Workers“

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

Gordon Hanson, Professor of Urban Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Author, “Can Trade Work for Workers?” 

Scott N. Paul, President, Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM)

Moderator: Alex Perkins, Principal, Mehlman Castagnetti, Rosen & Thomas

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES 

Laura M. Baughman is President of Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC, a trade research firm that celebrates its 20th anniversary in July 2021!  Ms. Baughman follows closely the impacts, both prospective and actual, of policies and programs on the U.S. economy and the trade flows of U.S. trading partners.  The firm produces detailed economic assessments of these policies and programs based on traditional economic modeling.  It also follows closely the U.S. trade policy formulation process, assisting clients in providing input to that process.  Ms. Baughman speaks regularly to U.S. and international audiences, and has testified before U.S. Administration agencies and Congressional committees, about trade policy impacts. Ms. Baughman holds degrees in economics from Columbia and Georgetown Universities.

Eric Gottwald is the Specialist on Trade & Economic Globalization at the AFL-CIO where he advocates for the effective integration of workers’ fundamental labor rights into trade and investment policy.  

Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Eric was the Deputy Director of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), where he coordinated programs to end labor abuses in global supply chains, utilizing trade-related complaint mechanisms to hold governments and corporations accountable for upholding international labor standards. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2005, completing human rights fellowships with Oxfam Great Britain and the International Labor Organization.  He is fluent in Spanish and licensed to practice law in Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. 

Gordon Hanson is the Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and co-editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Hanson received his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1992 and his B.A. in economics from Occidental College in 1986. Prior to joining Harvard in 2020, he held the Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations at UC San Diego, where he was founding director of the Center on Global Transformation. Hanson previously served on the economics faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of Texas. 

In his scholarship, Hanson specializes in international trade, international migration and economic geography. He has published extensively in top economics journals, is widely cited for his research by scholars from across the social sciences and is frequently quoted in major media outlets. Hanson’s current research addresses how globalization in the form of immigration and expanded trade with China have affected U.S. local labor markets. In a new endeavor, he is working with a multidisciplinary team of scholars to use satellite imagery to assess the impacts of expanding transportation networks, exposure to extreme weather, and related events on urban economic activity.

Scott N. Paul is President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership established in 2007 by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union. Scott and AAM have worked to make American manufacturing and “Made in America” top-of-mind concerns for voters and our national leaders through effective advocacy, policy development, and data-driven research.

Scott is a sought-after expert on trade and manufacturing matters, testifying before numerous congressional committees and penning op-eds for The New York Times and other leading publications. He authored a chapter in the 2013 book ​ReMaking America and has written extensively about Alexander Hamilton’s role in forming U.S. national economic policy. Scott also hosts the Manufacturing Report podcast. 

Scott currently serves as the Board Chair of the National Skills Coalition and on the Board of Visitors of the Political Science Department at the Pennsylvania State University. He sits on the Leadership Council of the Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight.

Scott earned a B.A. in Foreign Service and International Politics from Penn State and an M.A. with honors in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Raised in the small town of Rensselaer, Indiana, he currently resides in the Washington, DC area with his family.

Alex Perkins is a principal at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas (MCRT), where he advises clients on public policy issues.  A top expert in trade, customs and supply chain policy, prior to joining MCRT, Perkins spent nine years at Stellantis NV (formerly Fiat Chrysler). While at Stellantis, he developed and executed government relations and public affairs strategies to guide the Fortune 500 automaker through a wide-range of trade-related matters, including the NAFTA/USMCA renegotiations, where he helped lead the multi-sector USMCA business coalition.  Before Stellantis, Alex served for more than seven years as counsel for the House Ways & Means Committee and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). He currently resides in the Washington D.C. area with his wife and two children.

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