On May 14, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the long-awaited review of the Section 301 tariffs first imposed by the Trump Administration.

On May 17, WITA hosted a pop-up briefing to discuss the 301 review, and what it means for impacted sectors of the U.S. economy, and trade relations between the U.S. and China.

Featured Speakers:

Nova Daly, Senior Public Policy Advisor, Wiley Rein LLP

Albert Gore, Executive Director, Zero Emission Transportation Association

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

Kyle Johnson, Director of Trade Policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)

Scott N. Paul, President, Alliance for American Manufacturing

Vanessa Sciarra, Vice President, Trade & International Competitiveness, American Clean Power Association

Maria Zieba, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Pork Producers Council

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

Speaker Biographies:

Nova J. Daly is a Senior Public Policy Advisor at Wiley Rein LLP. Nova was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security and Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where he directed and coordinated the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and created and led the U.S.-EU Investment Dialogue and the U.S.-China Investment Forum. He also developed the U.S. Treasury’s “Open Investment Initiative” to attract foreign investment and reduce foreign and domestic barriers to international investments. Before joining Treasury, Mr. Daly was Director for International Trade at the National Security Council, Senior Advisor for Trade Policy for Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, and an International Trade Advisor for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Drawing on his experience in the management, development, and implementation of the U.S. economic and national security policies and programs, he provides both high-level insight and deep operational experience to help clients navigate the policy and regulatory environment surrounding cross-border business activities, especially through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Nova received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine, and a graduate degree in international law and organizations from American University.

Albert Gore is the Executive Director at Zero Emission Transportation Association

Albert is a veteran in the clean technology space, having spent seven years at Tesla, Inc., most recently as the Lead for Public Policy and Business Development in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Prior to its acquisition by Tesla, he was also the Deputy Director of Policy and Electricity Markets at SolarCity. Gore also served as Vice President of Business Development at Strategic Capital Partners, LLC, a commercial real estate investment and development firm. Gore lives with his wife and three children in Arlington, VA , and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelors in Government from Harvard University.

Ed Gresser is Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at PPI.

Ed returns to PPI after working for the think tank from 2001-2011. He most recently served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In this position, he led USTR’s economic research unit from 2015-2021, and chaired the 21-agency Trade Policy Staff Committee.

Ed began his career on Capitol Hill before serving USTR as Policy Advisor to USTR Charlene Barshefsky from 1998 to 2001. He then led PPI’s Trade and Global Markets Project from 2001 to 2011. After PPI, he co-founded and directed the independent think tank ProgressiveEconomy until rejoining USTR in 2015. In 2013, the Washington International Trade Association presented him with its Lighthouse Award, awarded annually to an individual or group for significant contributions to trade policy.

Ed is the author of Freedom from Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy (2007). He has published in a variety of journals and newspapers, and his research has been cited by leading academics and international organizations including the WTO, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia Universities and a certificate from the Averell Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union.

Kyle Johnson serves as the Director of Trade Policy at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). Prior to joining ITI, he served at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, where he led the Information Technologies Team. In that role, he supervised ICT hardware industry experts working to strengthen the global competitiveness of U.S. industry through industry analysis, trade policy development, addressing trade barriers, supporting semiconductor and ICT industry supply chain resilience, and assisting with trade promotion strategies.

Previously at Commerce, Kyle served in several staff roles focused on developing and implementing trade policy and promotion efforts to support trade and international competitiveness in innovative U.S. technologies. He contributed to Commerce’s work addressing technical barriers to trade, particularly relating to cybersecurity policies, ICT standards, and labeling. He coordinated an ICT-focused working group under the former U.S.-China JCCT, ensuring the group addressed China market access issues and created industry-government meetings to highlight emerging technology areas. He oversaw the formation of a working group to improve trade policy and promotion programs related to smart cities technology, and supported development of trade-related programming under the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership. He also co-led the development and implementation of APEC projects promoting risk-based cybersecurity policy development and regional harmonization on e-labeling policies and standards.

Before his roles at Commerce, Kyle worked as a Legislative Correspondent with Senator Byron Dorgan, served as an intern with the commercial section of U.S. Embassy Singapore, and taught English as a foreign language in South Korea. Kyle holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in International Economics and East Asia Studies, and a BA from the University of North Dakota in Political Science and Communications.

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 The Manufacturing Report podcast.

Scott is the past board chair of the National Skills Coalition and sits on the Board of Visitors of the Political Science Department at the Pennsylvania State University. He also is on the Advisory Board of Indiana University’s Manufacturing Policy Initiative.

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, D.C. area with his family.

Vanessa Sciarra is the Vice President for Trade and International Competitiveness at the American Clean Power Association (ACP), a multi-technology renewable energy industry trade group. ACP represents solar, storage, wind, and transmission companies, along with manufacturers and construction companies, developers and owners/operators, utilities, financial firms, and corporate purchasers in the clean energy value chain. Vanessa has deep experience in the international trade world in both the public and private sectors. 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 U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). A District of Columbia Bar member, she also has had a significant career in private practice representing clients in international trade matters at two law firms. She has previously served as President of the DC Chapter of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT), a group that works to promote the professional development of women in international trade and business and to raise public awareness of the importance of international trade.

Maria Zieba is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), overseeing the international affairs and domestic policy teams.

Prior to joining NPPC, Zieba was a Trade Policy Manager for the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, where she worked on various non-technical trade issues affecting the dairy industry. Before that, she worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, managing capacity building projects aimed at increasing U.S. agricultural exports to emerging markets.

Zieba holds a M.A. in international commerce and policy from George Mason University. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Riverside with a double major in political science-international affairs and Spanish.

She is fluent in three languages and has lived in Washington, D.C., Southern California, Argentina and Brazil.

Nicole Bivens Collinson is a Managing Principal, Operating Committee, and International Trade and Government Relations Practice Leader with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. She is located in the Washington, D.C., office. Ms. Collinson is a commentator on trade matters on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC and 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.

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.

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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 Monday, June 6th, WITA and the Asia Society Policy Institute hosted Ambassador Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, for an in-person event. During this event, Ambassador Tai discussed the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework announced during the President’s trip to Asia, as well as critical trade issues in advance of the Summit of the Americas and the 12th WTO Ministerial.

This event was also live-streamed on zoom.

Featured Speaker:

Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative

Moderator: Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute

Speaker Biographies:

Ambassador Katherine Tai

Ambassador Katherine Tai was sworn in as the 19th United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2021. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Tai is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy.

Prior to her unanimous Senate confirmation, Ambassador Tai spent most of her career in public service focusing on international economic diplomacy, monitoring, and enforcement. She previously served as Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director for the House Ways and Means Committee in the United States Congress. In this capacity, Ambassador Tai played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. trade law, negotiations strategies, and bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the recently re-negotiated United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Ambassador Tai is an experienced World Trade Organization (WTO) litigator. She previously developed and tried cases for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, eventually becoming the Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement. Before transitioning to federal service, she practiced law in the private sector, clerked for district judges, and taught English in Guangzhou, China.

Ambassador Tai earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She is fluent in Mandarin.

Wendy Cutler

Wendy Cutler is the 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.

This event was also streamed on cspan. To access their recording, please click here.

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