Since the U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement entered into force in 2020 during President Trump’s first term, companies in the three countries have re-oriented their supply chains to meet the demands of the agreement.

Recent and potential actions taken by the United States, Canada and Mexico could upend North American supply chains, and have impacts on the North American economy that go beyond just the cost of the tariffs that may be imposed by the three countries.

On Tuesday, March 18, WITA hosted a webinar to discuss the real world impacts of these actions on trade and commerce in North America.

Featured Speakers:

Shannon Fura, Page Fura, P.C., and Immediate Past Chair of the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones.

Turenna Ramírez, Partner, Holland & Knight Mexico SC

Valerie Romero, Executive Vice President, Oremor Automotive Group (Ontario, CA); Chair, American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA)

Mark Shiring, CEO, Air Technology / Americas, ebm-papst Group

Laurie Tannous, Vice President Government Relations, Farrow; Chair, Canada US Business Association (CUSBA)

Moderator: Andrew Rudman, Senior Associate (non-resident), CSIS Latin America Program

Speaker Biographies:

Shannon Fura is a founding partner in the international trade law firm of Page•Fura, P.C. With a background in import/export law, intellectual property and international affairs, Ms. Fura offers clients the diverse background and skillset necessary to exercise compliance and ensure supply chain security in today’s global market.

Ms. Fura brings more than 20 years of experience to her representation of clients in the international arena. Her counseling in the import area includes representing companies before U.S. Customs & Border Protection and other impacted federal agencies in Focused Assessments and other reviews of their import operations. In furtherance to that representation, Ms. Fura works with clients in the establishment, enhancement and monitoring of compliance programs, and provides counsel on a myriad of specific issues including transfer pricing and customs valuation, tariff classification, country of origin determinations and marking requirements, tariff preference program/free trade agreement eligibility, trade relief and remedies, foreign-trade zones and duty drawback, and customs enforcement matters, including civil penalty actions, investigations, seizures and liquidated damages cases. In addition to this work, Ms. Fura also actively represents companies in the area of border/supply chain security including developing and evaluating program qualifications under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism/WCO SAFE Framework.

In the export arena, Ms. Fura brings her extensive knowledge of the intricacies of U.S. export control laws to her representation of companies. Her work in this area extends to representation before the Bureau of Industry & Security, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Bureau of the Census, and includes the development of comprehensive Export Management Systems as well as performing self-assessments of companies’ existing export compliance programs and policies. Besides conducting comprehensive reviews/program development, Ms. Fura also provides advocacy for clients on individual commodity jurisdiction requests, export license applications, Technical Assistance Agreements/Manufacturing License Agreements, and deemed export and re-export controls and compliance. She also, where necessary, counsels clients on the submission of voluntary self disclosures and issues of export enforcement.

Turenna Ramirez Ortiz is a corporate trade attorney in Holland & Knight’s Mexico City office. Ms. Ramirez focuses on advising multinational companies on cross-border transactions related to international trade, customs and non-tariff regulations.

Ms. Ramirez has more than 25 years of experience, and her clients include automotive, retail, chemical, petrochemical, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, software, cosmetics, electronics, maquiladoras (IMMEX) and trading companies. She handles strategic planning, trade compliance diagnosis, advisory on free trade agreements, preventive and reactive audits by the Mexican Tax Administration Service, as well as defense and litigation before the Mexican government and federal courts.

In addition, Ms. Ramirez advises on foreign trade, multilateral treaties and antidumping laws. Her experience includes design and implementation of business strategies, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) origin verifications, rules of origin, export controls, import/export regimes, bonded facilities structure and management, duty-quota design, high-level negotiations and implementation, and in-depth knowledge of tariff and non-tariff regulatory issues. She has participated in complex, high-visibility matters and in international trade negotiations with the secretary general of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in a program against forgery and piracy.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Ramirez was an attorney and board member of a Mexican law firm and Managing Partner of its Mexico City office.

Ms. Ramirez also has completed a leading professional service firms course at Harvard Business School, as well as several post-graduate courses on international business, commercial structure and legal aspects of foreign trade in diverse Mexican universities. She also completed an internship in the Congressional office of former Rep. Eligio “Kika” de la Garza.

Valerie Romero is a second-generation dealer with over forty years’ experience in the automotive industry who serves as the Executive Vice President of the family-owned and operated OREMOR Automotive Group in southern California and Texas. In her role as EVP of OREMOR, Valerie supports 18 rooftops representing 14 brands. In 2024 she was elected chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association by her fellow dealers. She also serves as a current member and two-time past President of the Ontario Auto Association, is currently on the Executive Committee of the University of LaVerne Board of Trustees, and is involved with CMCDA, NADA & NAMAD. Additionally, in the past she has been involved with the Assistance League, National Charity League, and Curtain Raisers.

Valerie is also active in the community, supporting and sponsoring local elementary and high school programs, foster children programs, law enforcement agencies and the local chamber of commerce. Valerie graduated from Scripps College with a dual degree in Psychology and Philosophy and returned to school to attain her Juris Doctorate from University of LaVerne, College of Law.

Mark Shiring is the CEO of ebm-papst for the Americas region since 2015. A senior executive with over twenty years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations. Mark’s experience with sales, marketing, and customer service teams spans multiple cultures from tenures in the USA and China.

In North America Mark managed a sales and marketing team responsible for direct OEM and distribution sales management as National Sales Manager and then Vice President of Marketing. He successfully led a transformation of the distribution channel business for ebm-papst to increase the branding, sales, margins, and mindshare.

Mark relocated to China in early 2010 as General Manager for ebm-papst China with full P&L responsibility for the sales, engineering, and manufacturing operation. ebm-papst doubled the sales and size of the operation within a 5 year period.

Mark returned to the US in late 2014 as Executive Vice President focused on improving the operation in manufacturing and engineering.

Laurie A. Tannous is a Cross-Border Attorney and a requested speaker at many trade and industry forums globally, providing public policy counsel to government officials and industry leaders on matters relating to Business Immigration Law, Global Mobility, Cross Border Management & Security, Customs/Trade, Cross Border E- Mobility, Entertainment Law, Forced Labour/ Human Trafficking Supply Chain Matters, Public-Private Partnerships and Economic Development Initiatives.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Tannous was a Border Services Officer with the Canada Border Services Agency bringing an in-depth experience to her understanding of immigration and customs laws and regulations.

Andrew I. Rudman has focused on Latin America throughout his public and private sector career, most recently as Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute. He joined the Wilson Center from Monarch Global Strategies (Monarch), a Washington, D.C -based boutique strategic advisory firm focusing on government relations and market entry/access for clients interested in doing business in Mexico and other Latin American countries. As a Managing Director, Andrew managed Monarch’s healthcare practice while supporting clients across a range of sectors and interests.

Prior to joining Monarch (then known as ManattJones Global Strategies), Rudman was Deputy Vice-President for the Western Hemisphere at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) where he developed and executed policy advocacy strategies across the hemisphere with particular focus on Mexico and Brazil. Mr. Rudman began his professional career as a tenured Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State and then worked in the Commerce Department as Deputy Director and then Director of the Office of NAFTA and Inter-American Affairs.

His government and private sector experience allow him to provide guidance for development of government relations strategies in the United States and in Latin America. He writes and speaks on a range of topics including U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations, trade, nearshoring, and health policy. Mr. Rudman received a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University and a bachelor’s degree in Government and Spanish from Colby College. He is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

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