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

Featured Speakers:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speaker Biographies:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you to our USMCA Review Series Sponsors