2021 WITA Virtual Intensive Trade Seminar

Click to Register via eventbrite for the Full 4-Part Package: 

2021 Intensive Trade Seminar Pricing:

Full package (4 Parts): 

WITA Member: $350

WITA Member (Government): $250

Non Member: $500

Non Member (Government): $300

Full Time Student: $250

Individual bundles available: $50-100/part

(Must be a WITA Member)

For group rates (3 or more ticket purchases), email Diego Anez (danez@wita.org) to receive a special rate.

To get WITA member pricing, click here.

Who Should Attend? 

The four-part Intensive Trade Seminar is geared towards individuals who want to learn how trade policy is made in Washington, DC. Past attendees include those in business, law, academia, NGOs, embassies and the U.S. Government.

Participants gain insight from trade professionals, pose questions to policy makers, and learn about the ever-shifting trade landscape. Attendees come away with an understanding of the trade policy-making process, the role of its key players, and the important issues facing policy makers.

The curriculum is focused on helping attendees broaden their understanding of trade policy making, those seeking a career in trade policy, others new to the trade policy field, and anyone serving the import/export community.

We also encourage the international community working on economic and trade issues, and others who want to learn more about international trade, to participate in this program. 

If you cannot view every session at the time it is originally offered, most sessions* will also be available off-line to paying attendees (access code will be required).

To keep the dialogue open and candid, the Intensive Trade Seminar is OFF THE RECORD and is not open to the press.

Proposed Dates and Format:

The 2021 Intensive Trade Seminar will be held virtually on Zoom**

13 Seminars in the course of 3 days (4-Part Series)

Each day will highlight an array of U.S. government agencies and their roles in formulating trade policy.

FULL AGENDA (All Times are US/Eastern)

* Most sessions will be available to paying attendees to watch at a later time. However, certain sessions may not be recorded to facilitate more open discussion.

** If your agency or business does not use Zoom, we can work with you to make content available on an accessible platform for later viewing.

All Diamond Sponsors will receive one free pass to attend the Intensive Trade Seminar.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

in order of appearance

Nasim D. Fussell is a Partner in Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C., office. Ms. Fussell has a wealth of trade legislation and negotiation experience, having served in numerous trade-related roles in the public and private sectors.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Fussell was the chief international trade counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, serving under Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). She also served as deputy chief international trade counsel under former chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Ms. Fussell led the Senate negotiations with the Trump Administration and U.S. House of Representatives on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Ms. Fussell also worked on negotiations with Japan (U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement), China (China Phase One Agreement), the United Kingdom, Kenya, the European Union, India and Brazil, as well as negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), including on reform efforts, fisheries and e-commerce.

In addition, Ms. Fussell was trade counsel for the House Committee on Ways and Means, where she served under three chairmen. She worked with the Obama Administration on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, serving as staff lead on customs and rules of origin issues, and worked closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury on all customs matters before the committee. She contributed to significant legislative achievements during this time, including the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015, Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 and American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016. In addition, Ms. Fussell worked on a wide range of issues during her time in both chambers, including digital services taxes, tariff reform efforts, e-commerce, trade and technology, forced labor and trade in agriculture.

Prior to joining government, Ms. Fussell served in a variety of trade and public policy roles in the private sector for a major automobile manufacturer, a cross-sectoral trade association and a global technology company, where she worked on international trade, customs, e-commerce and technology policies, shipping and other regulatory issues. She started her legal career as a law clerk in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration.

Viji Rangaswami joined Liberty Mutual in January 2014, as Vice President & Federal Affairs Officer. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Viji was chief trade counsel to the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked for over 12 years. While at the Committee, Viji played a key role in crafting and passing major trade legislation, including legislation to normalize US trade relations with China. She provided oversight and advice to members of Congress on ongoing trade negotiations, and worked with Administrations to implement subsequent negotiated agreements.

Before joining the Ways and Means staff, Viji was an associate at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. She also held an appointment at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she focused on international development. She has served as a visiting lecturer at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School. 

Paul H. DeLaney, III is Vice President of Trade and International at Business Roundtable. DeLaney leads trade and international policy and advocacy efforts and oversees the Trade and International Committee, advocating for trade and international economic policies that promote U.S. growth, competitiveness and jobs. 

Prior to joining Business Roundtable, Paul was a Partner at the Kyle House Group where he advised clients and led advocacy on international trade, customs, investment, tax and business policy working with a wide-range of sectors and organizations. 

Paul served as International Trade Counsel to Chairman Orrin G. Hatch for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and advised Senators and their staff on trade, investment, customs and international economic issues. Paul assisted with Finance Committee hearings and legislative markups, drafted trade legislation and amendments, briefed Senators and staff, consulted with the Administration and trade agencies, and met with stakeholders and foreign governments. Paul assisted in managing the Senate floor during the consideration of seven trade bills. 

Before joining the Finance Committee, Paul worked as Senior Attorney for Trade and International Affairs at FedEx Express. He advocated on behalf of FedEx Express to shape trade policies, trade agreements and international regulatory policies that impacted the company’s international operations and investments. He was appointed to serve on Industry and Trade Advisory Committee 10 on Services and Finance by the Bush and the Obama Administrations. 

Prior to joining FedEx Express, Paul worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and served as Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Trade Representatives Rob Portman and Susan C. Schwab. Paul was integrally involved in strategic planning, agency operations, and decision-making with senior political and career staff. 

Before joining USTR, Paul was a litigation associate at Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Washington D.C. Paul attended Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Paul has lectured at the University of Virginia School of Law, the Georgetown McDonough School of Business, and Georgetown University on international trade and disputes, as well as speaking at a wide range of association meetings and conferences.

Douglas M. Bell serves as the Ernst & Young Global Trade Policy Leader. In this role he advises EY on national and global cross border economic policy developments, and monitors the trade policy environment to identify strategic and operational opportunities to help clients and EY utilize those insights. Prior to joining the EY organization in February 2019, Douglas worked with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, most recently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Investment Policy. 

Prior to his time at Treasury, Douglas managed trade policy and economics at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) as a Counselor and Assistant USTR, overseeing market-access and rule-of-origin chapters in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. 

From 2009 to 2011, Douglas served as the Director for Trade and Investment for the White House’s National Security Council. Douglas began his federal government career as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State, and also served in Deputy Assistant USTR regional positions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 

Douglas holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

Kelly Ann Shaw is a Partner at Hogan Lovells and the former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. Shaw brings to bear a deep knowledge of U.S. international trade, investment, and 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 Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. Congress.

In her White House role, serving on both the National Security Council and National Economic Council, Kelly Ann led the Office of International Economic Affairs and played an instrumental role in a wide range of legislation, negotiations, and agreements, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the China Phase One agreement. As a senior adviser to the president on matters of international economic policy, including trade, investment, development, global economics, energy, and the environment, she was directly involved in almost every major economic decision made at the Trump White House.

Kelly Ann also has served as lead U.S. negotiator at the G7, G20, and APEC and led the U.S.-UK Economic Working Group. As Republican Trade Counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means, Kelly Ann played an important role in formulating U.S. international trade and investment law, policy, and strategy. In her role as Assistant General Counsel for USTR based in Geneva, Switzerland, and Washington, D.C., she represented the United States in more than 40 World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes and in negotiations. She also served as a lead lawyer, negotiator, and adviser in other important international negotiations, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Prior to her distinguished government service, Kelly Ann was in private practice in Washington, D.C.

Michael J. Smart is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, an international economic policy advisory firm, where he focuses on international trade and investment policy, including market access and regulatory matters. Mr. Smart is currently advising multinational companies and financial institutions on ongoing international trade and investment negotiations.

Mr. Smart previously served as International 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 (WTO) 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 is 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).

Patrick Kirwan is the Director of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Secretariat at the Department of Commerce. In this capacity, he coordinates a network of 20 government agencies to improve federal trade promotion and finance programs to increase U.S. exports. He has focused specifically on developing commercial strategies for key markets and improving federal/state cooperation on export promotion. 

Mr. Kirwan has served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Domestic Operations, where he oversaw the operations of the 105 export assistance offices of the Department of Commerce located around the country. Mr. Kirwan has also spent two years in the White House at the Domestic Policy Council working on a variety of trade-related issues. As part of the Office of the President, Mr. Kirwan participated in the development of a number of strategic trade initiatives in areas such as electronic commerce, international standards setting, trade finance, and China and Asia policy.  

Professor Michael Moore is Director of the Masters of Arts in International Economic Policy program and has been a faculty member at the Elliott School since receiving his doctorate in 1988. He received his B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Moore teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international trade theory and policy as well as international macroeconomics. He also has taught international economics to US diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute and students at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Sciences-Po) in Paris. He has published in numerous academic journals including the Journal of International Economics, International Trade Journal, Canadian Journal of Economics, Review of International Economics, European Journal of Political Economy, and Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, and has been a contributor to five books. His commentary has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Financial Times, CNN, CBC, NPR, and NBC.

Professor Moore has served as Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, Director of the International Trade and Investment Policy Program, and Associate Dean at the Elliott School.

Professor Moore served as Senior Economist for international trade on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2002 to 2003.

Deanna Tanner Okun is the managing partner at Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP. Deanna is an international trade lawyer providing legal and strategic international trade policy advice to steer companies through the intersection where innovation confronts barriers, such as intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices, or regulatory hurdles.  

Deanna’s practice involves all aspects of unfair trade litigation and trade remedy advocacy. Her Section 337 work includes all stages of litigation at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) from pre-institution consultation to post-remedy enforcement with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). She also represents companies in Title VII antidumping and countervailing duty investigations before the ITC and Department of Commerce (DOC). In 2017, her client secured the first negative preliminary AD/CVD determination in over seven years. Deanna’s work in trade remedy proceedings on behalf of U.S. companies extends to previously rarely-used trade statutes, including Section 201, 232, and 301 investigations. Deanna participated in one of only two Section 201 investigations in the past twenty years, winning a successful remedy for her client. She works closely with contacts in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the government to create innovative solutions to her clients’ legal and business challenges.

Deanna has extensive experience as a top administrator, regulator, enforcer, legislative aide, and lawyer. She served two terms as Chairman during her twelve years of service as a member of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). During her tenure as a Commissioner, she ruled on hundreds of cases involving allegations of patent, trademark and copyright infringement as well as other types of unfair acts such as trade secrets. As Commissioner, she was involved in numerous antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and participated in almost all of the recent global safeguard investigations under the Trade Act of 1974, including investigations under Section 201 and the China-specific safeguard investigations under Section 421. Prior to her appointment to the ITC, she served as counsel for international affairs to U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski, Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and senior member of the Finance and Foreign Relations Committees, and practiced international trade law with a large DC-based law firm. During her tenure at the ITC, Deanna was nominated to be Deputy United States Trade Representative.

In 2012, Deanna was named the Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Association of Women in International Trade, a chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade. She has served on the Federal Circuit Advisory Council since 2013. In 2019, for the seventh consecutive year, Managing Intellectual Property named Deanna one of the Top 250 Women in IP. She was recently selected for the 2020 Roster for NAFTA Chapter 19 Binational Panels (U.S.).

Ambassador Rufus Yerxa became President of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) in May 2016. As president, he oversees NFTC’s efforts in favor of a more open, rules-based world economy, focusing on key issues to U.S. competitiveness such as international trade and tax policy, economic sanctions and export finance. He has more than four decades of experience as a lawyer, diplomat, U.S. trade negotiator and international official. He has been in key policymaking and management roles in Congress, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and also spent several years in private law practice and the corporate world.

As Deputy Director General of the WTO from 2002 to 2013 he helped to broaden its membership and strengthen its role as the principal rules-based institution governing world trade.

Prior to this, from 1989 to 1995, he served as Deputy USTR under both a Republican and a Democratic President, first as the Geneva-based Ambassador to the GATT (the predecessor organization to the WTO) and subsequently as the Washington Deputy. Earlier in his government career (1981 to 1989) he was with the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Trade. He began his government career as a legal advisor with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

After leaving government service in 1995 and prior to joining the WTO he spent five years in the private sector, including as the Brussels-based partner with the U.S. law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Rufus is a native of Washington State. He holds a BA in political science from the University of Washington (1973), a JD from Seattle University School of Law (1976) and an LLB in international Law from the University of Cambridge in England (1977). He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, and is also a Visiting Professor with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).

Ambassador Dr. David Walker is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand at the World Trade Organization and is currently Chair of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. This is his third time in Geneva. From 2009 to April 2011 Dr Walker also served as New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the WTO. In April 2009 Dr Walker was appointed Chair of the Doha Round negotiations on agriculture.

On returning to New Zealand from Geneva Dr Walker was Deputy Secretary of the Americas, Asia and Middle East and Africa Group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade responsible for New Zealand’s bilateral relationships in these geographies together with New Zealand’s participation in regional processes in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

From 2012 to 2016 Dr Walker was Deputy Secretary of the Ministry’s Trade and Economic Group responsible for the negotiation and implementation of New Zealand’s trade agreements, including as New Zealand’s Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Before 2009, David was MFAT’s Principal Economic Adviser. He served as New Zealand’s APEC Senior Official in 2004 and 1999. From August 2000 to April 2004 he was Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States, based in Washington DC.

Prior to 1999, David served as head of MFAT’s Trade and Economic Analysis Division and had postings in London and Geneva. He also spent a period as Strategic Issues Manager at Telecom.

Dr Walker was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2016 New Year’s Honours list for services to the State.

Dorothy Dwoskin is the Principal at d2Strategies LLC, a consulting firm focused on international trade and economic policy, working with clients on a variety of issues. Her work builds on her expertise as a trade negotiator and a tech policy official. In addition to the WITA Board, she remains active with the Washington Council on International Trade, based in Seattle.

From 2007-2017 Dorothy was Senior Director of Global Trade Policy and Strategy at Microsoft, and a member of its Federal Government team in Washington D.C., leading the company’s policy efforts to promote open markets and fair trade in software and services, collaborating with government agencies, Congress, international organizations, and foreign governments. She worked extensively on Microsoft’s agenda with China and other Microsoft subsidiaries pursuing the company’s global interests in the trade area, including the intersection of trade policy and cloud policy.

From 1978-2007, Dorothy was a member of the career staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), serving in many positions, including USTR’s Geneva Office. Before her departure, she was a member of the Senior Executive Service. Dorothy served as the Assistant USTR for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multilateral Affairs at USTR. In that position she was responsible for trade negotiations and policy matters before the WTO, in the Doha Round and the Uruguay Round. She served as lead U.S. negotiator on a variety of trade policy issues, including the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), and led the negotiating teams setting the terms of membership for countries acceding to the WTO. She led teams resulting in successful bilateral WTO market access agreements with Russia and the Ukraine, and concluded membership negotiations for the accession of Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.

Juan A. Millán is the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Monitoring and Enforcement in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). He leads the Monitoring and Enforcement unit of the Office of General Counsel, which represents the United States in disputes under the World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. free trade agreements, and other bilateral trade agreements. He develops litigation strategy for and supervises all U.S. trade litigation in these fora. He also provides analysis and strategic advice to the U.S. Trade Representative and senior USTR officials on matters related to U.S. trade policy, including foreign trade barriers and policies affecting international trade relations. From 2005 to 2012, he was Legal Advisor and Senior Legal Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, participating in all U.S. disputes and disputes-related matters in the WTO during that period and representing the United States in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Before moving to Geneva, he served as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel at USTR, with a focus on domestic and export subsidies, agriculture, and SPS (human, animal, or plant life or health) issues. Previously, he worked at a Washington, DC, law firm. He holds a law degree from Yale Law School and an undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton University.

Thomas Beline is a partner in Cassidy Levy Kent’s Washington DC office. Mr. Beline’s practice focuses on advising clients on all areas of import regulatory compliance and policy, trade remedies, and international trade litigation. Mr. Beline regularly appears as lead counsel before the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) binational panels. Mr. Beline has also advised clients involved in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement process. In addition, Mr. Beline works closely with clients in matters involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection including tariff classification, valuation, enforcement, and drawback claims.

Mr. Beline works with companies from a diverse spectrum of industry sectors including primary steel, consumer electronics, construction equipment, fabricated metals, chemicals, and textiles. He has prosecuted and defended trade actions involving various companies with manufacturing in the United States and abroad. Mr. Beline also has experience litigating trade issues in bankruptcy law and reverse Qui Tam actions.

Mr. Beline has been appointed by the chief judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade to serve as a member of the Court’s Rules Advisory Committee. Mr. Beline has also appeared as a speaker on international trade topics. Mr. Beline is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh.

Stacy J. Ettinger is a Partner with the global law firm K&L Gates. Ms. Ettinger is based in Washington DC and leads the firm’s international trade policy practice. She has over 25 years of experience working with U.S. and foreign businesses and foreign governments on trade and investment legal, regulatory, and policy matters.

Ms. Ettinger advises U.S. and foreign companies operating across a diverse range of sectors including manufacturing, energy (LNG, solar), infrastructure, and maritime, in various geographic regions including Asia and the Arctic. Her practice covers international trade, investment and regulatory matters, including trade investigations, tariff actions (232, 301, 201), customs rulings, national security reviews of foreign acquisitions and investments (CFIUS), free trade zones, bilateral and multilateral negotiations, market access issues, international IP, and food/product standards.

Ms. Ettinger joined K&L Gates in 2016 after serving for nine years as senior legal and policy advisor to United States Senate Democratic Leader, Charles Schumer, on trade, investment and regulatory matters.

Prior to her work in the United States Senate, Ms. Ettinger served for 15 years as a trade negotiator, legal and policy advisor, and litigator at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she represented the United States in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, investigated and litigated unfair trade practices involving industrial and agricultural products, and managed complex federal rulemaking projects. Ms. Ettinger also represented the United States in more than 30 appearances in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement proceedings.

Ms. Ettinger has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University since 2007, where she teaches an advanced legal seminar on International Trade Remedies and the WTO. She is active in various trade-related professional organizations, including as Board Vice President of the Trade Policy Forum. Ms. Ettinger writes and speaks frequently on international trade and investment issues.

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.

She has deep experience in the international trade world in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as a Vice President at the National Foreign Trade Council working on 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 member of the District of Columbia Bar, she has also been in private practice at the law firms of Cassidy Levy Kent LLC and Holland & Knight LLP.

David Shogren is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Treasury Department’s Office of Investment Security. Since joining Treasury in 2018, he has focused on drafting the regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), which modernized and expanded the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Prior to joining Treasury he practiced law in the private sector with a focus on antitrust, government investigations, and advising clients on CFIUS-related matters. He graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and has an B.A. from N.C. State University.

Kevin Wolf is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. He has more than 25 years’ experience providing advice and counseling regarding the laws, regulations, policies, practices and politics pertaining to export controls, sanctions, national security reviews of foreign direct investments and other international trade issues. Kevin has deep experience that includes being a Special Compliance Officer, civil and criminal defense, internal investigations, due diligence audits and compliance program enhancements.

Kevin is the Special Compliance Officer for the U.S. State Department to monitor a multinational company’s compliance with the ITAR and requirements of a consent agreement. He advises U.S. semiconductor and other high technology companies regarding compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), including the prohibitions pertaining to activities involving foreign companies on the EAR’s Entity List, Denied Persons List and Unverified List.Kevin also advises U.S. space, launch and aircraft companies regarding complex jurisdictional, classification, interpretation and licensing issues associated with the controls of the ITAR and the EAR.

Kevin served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security. He was the assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security, 2010 to 2017.

Nova 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.

Kristine Pirnia is a Member of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., and leads its Export Controls and Sanctions Practice. She is based in San Diego and is an accomplished professional and leader with extensive experience in export controls, sanctions and anti-bribery related matters such as program development, internal investigations and training both within corporations and in private practice.

Ms. Pirnia counsels clients on understanding and complying with export control laws and regulations (including the EAR and ITAR) in the U.S. and overseas. She also develops strategies for evolving sanctions issues under the OFAC regulations and has expertise in managing CFIUS reviews and filings. She has substantial experience preparing and submitting requests for commodity jurisdiction and classification requests as well as advisory opinions; voluntary disclosures; and responses to requests for information, subpoenas, audits, and investigations. She also advises on due diligence and integration efforts related to mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining ST&R, Ms. Pirnia served as vice president and deputy general counsel for global trade controls for an international company, where she managed a large team with responsibility for global licensing, investigations, disclosures, policy and tool development, training, communications, audits, and other trade control program elements. Her more than 15 years’ experience as a trade compliance and anti-bribery attorney includes designing systems and controls for import and export compliance, conducting internal investigations and developing internal control policies and programs, negotiating settlement agreements with federal agencies, developing and administering training, and providing programmatic and investigation support related to global anti-bribery statutes.

Ms. Pirnia holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the bar in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Brian O’Toole is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. He is an accomplished expert on economic sanctions and foreign policy with substantial experience across public and private sectors.

Brian is the senior vice president and director of sanctions and screening at Truist Financial Corporation, the sixth-largest bank in the United States formed from the merger of BB&T and SunTrust. In that capacity, he oversees the corporation’s sanctions compliance efforts and politically exposed persons screening across the bank and its subsidiary businesses.

Previously, Brian worked at the US Department of the Treasury from 2009 to 2017. As senior adviser to the director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), he helped manage the implementation of all OFAC-administered economic and financial sanctions programs, and provided strategic direction of the internal management of the agency. He played a central role in designing the US sanctions regime in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and negotiating the multilateral sanctions imposed by the European Union and G7 in coordination with the United States. Brian also helped to manage implementation of US government commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.

Prior to joining OFAC, Brian served as an illicit finance analyst for both the Treasury Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis and at the Central Intelligence Agency, and was an anticorruption specialist in the forensic services practice at PwC.

Brian holds a BA from Princeton University in economics, with a certificate in finance, and an MA from Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in international economics and strategic studies. Brian lives and works in Raleigh, NC.

Professor 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.

Bob Stack is Washington National Tax, International Tax Group, Managing Director at Deloitte Tax LLP. He advises US companies on a full range of international tax issues and collaborates with Deloitte’s global member firms on international tax developments and initiatives, including those from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Bob joined Deloitte Tax from the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury), where he was the deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs in the Office of Tax Policy. While there, he worked directly with the assistant secretary of tax policy and the international tax counsel in developing and implementing all aspects of US international tax policy, including treaties, regulations, and legislative proposals.

He also was the official representative of the Obama administration for international tax policy and represented the US government at the OECD where he was involved in all aspects of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative. Prior to joining Treasury, Bob had more than 25 years of experience in international tax matters, representing both corporations and individuals.

Bob is a member of the executive committee of the US Branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) and a frequent speaker at IFA events worldwide. He a member of the advisory committee for the Annual Institute on Current Issues in International Tax at The George Washington University School of Law. He is a frequent speaker at events sponsored by such organizations as the Tax Executives Institute, the International Bar Association, American Bar Association Tax Section, and Irish Tax Institute. He presented the Twenty-Second Tillinghast Lecture on International Taxation at the New York University School of Law.

Bob earned his Bachelor of Arts in English education from State University of New York at Albany and his Master of Arts in French language and literature from New York University. He went on to obtain his Master of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. After graduating, he clerked for Judge Thomas A. Flannery of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and Justice Potter Stewart (Ret.) of the United States Supreme Court.
(Biography)

Loren Ponds is a Member of Miller Chevalier in Practice Co-Lead and Tax Policy. Ponds centers her practice on providing strategic counsel to clients on legislative, regulatory, and other tax policy issues, as well as advising on technical tax matters related to transfer pricing and other international tax topics.

She advises clients on the impacts of tax policy, such as the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), and issues related to technical corrections, administrative guidance, and legislative amendments to various provisions. In addition, Ms. Ponds advises clients on Advance Pricing Agreements, mutual agreement procedure (MAP) negotiations, and international tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), intangible property transactions, and other transfer pricing and international tax issues.

Prior to joining Miller & Chevalier, Ms. Ponds served as Majority Tax Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, where she developed, analyzed, and refined the international tax provisions of the TCJA.

Previously, Ms. Ponds served in Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Department with a focus on transfer pricing and other international tax issues, where she counseled multinational companies on tax planning projects, including intellectual property planning, supply chain optimization, and restructurings.

Fluent in French and German, Ms. Ponds worked abroad as Ernst & Young’s Global Transfer Pricing Operations Manager in Düsseldorf, Germany. Ms. Ponds was also a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Universität Hamburg-International Tax Institute in Germany, as well as a Trainee at the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development in Paris, France.

Thea Lee has been advocating for workers’ rights, both domestically and internationally, for over thirty years. She was president of the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive pro-worker Washington think tank, from January 2018 to May 2021 and an international trade economist at EPI in the 1990s. From 1997 to 2017, Lee worked at the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women. At the AFL-CIO, she served as deputy chief of staff, policy director, and chief international economist.

Lee has engaged in national policy debates on issues such as wage inequality, workers’ rights, and fair trade. She is co-author of The Field Guide to the Global Economy, published by The New Press, and has authored numerous publications on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the impact of international trade on U.S. wage inequality, and the domestic steel and textile industries.

Lee has been a voice for workers in testimony before congressional committees and in television and radio appearances—including on PBS NewsHour, Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered and Marketplace, Fox Business, and the PBS documentary Commanding Heights. She has served on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee, and on the Boards of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, the Center for International Policy, and the Coalition on Human Needs, among others. She served on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission from 2018 to 2020. She currently serves on the boards of the National Women’s Law Center, as well as the national advisory board of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Lee holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a bachelor’s degree in economics cum laude from Smith College.

Eric Biel joined the Fair Labor Association as Senior Advisor in January 2018 and leads the organization’s work on grievances/complaint mechanisms to address compliance issues in supplier factories, as well as on several other projects and policy initiatives that address workers’ rights in countries around the world.

During his five years as Associate Deputy Undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) ending in January 2017, Biel coordinated the Bureau’s work on private sector engagement, supply chain issues, labor rights in a range of countries and under trade preference programs, and on key issues in the International Labor Organization, G-7, OECD, and other international venues.

After leaving government at the end of the Obama Administration and prior to beginning at the FLA, Biel worked on several projects with business and civil society groups, spoke frequently on labor, business and human rights, and trade issues at law and public policy schools and think tanks, prepared recommendations for reforming trade policy to better address labor rights issues, and served on the Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force on the Future of the U.S. Workforce.

From 2000 to 2011, Biel held a variety of positions outside of government, including: Managing Director for Corporate Responsibility at Burson-Marsteller; Deputy Washington Director and Senior Counsel at Human Rights First (formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights); and Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the Fontheim International law and consulting firm.

Prior government positions from 1990 to 2000 included service as Deputy Undersecretary for Trade Policy and heading the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning at the U.S. Department of Commerce; Executive Director of the bipartisan Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy and Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan; and International Trade Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee. He traveled frequently to Africa, Europe, Asia, and Mexico while serving at the Commerce Department and Finance Committee. Before entering government, he worked as an attorney at Arnold & Porter and Mayer Brown & Platt.

Since 2009, Biel has taught a business and human rights course at the Georgetown University Law Center addressing key issues of human rights, corporate accountability in the global economy, and the intersection of trade and labor standards. He serves on the Leadership Circle of Foreign Policy for America, the Board of Advocates at Human Rights First, as Senior Advisor at the American Leadership Initiative, as a member of the Business & Human Rights Teaching Forum, and in other volunteer capacities, including during the 2020 Presidential campaign.

Biel has a B.A. degree from Johns Hopkins University and a joint J.D.-M.P.A. degree from Yale Law School and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton.

Angela Ellard has served as the World Trade Organization’s Deputy Director-General since June 2021. Prior to her appointment, Ms Ellard had a distinguished career serving in the US Congress as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel for over 26 years. She is internationally recognized as an expert on trade and international economic policy, resolving trade and investment barriers, negotiating trade agreements, and supporting multilateral solutions as part of an effective trade and development policy.

Ms Ellard has negotiated and delivered significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes and legislation with Members of U.S. Congress and senior Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, and Clinton Administration officials. Ms Ellard was also a lawyer in the private sector, specializing in trade litigation and strategy, trade policy, and legislative issues.

Ms Ellard obtained her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Tulane University School of Law and her Master of Arts in Public Policy also from Tulane. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Newcomb College of Tulane University, summa cum laude. Ms Ellard is a frequent lecturer at law – graduate, and undergraduate classes. She has received numerous awards recognizing her accomplishments in trade law and policy.

Clete Willems is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he advises clients, including investors, trade associations and multinational companies, on international economic law and policy matters. With over 16 years of U.S. government experience, he offers clients strategic guidance and legal representation on trade, investment, finance, economic development, sanctions and energy, among other issues.

Before joining Akin Gump, Clete served in the White House as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. This position was also part of the National Security Council. In this role, he was the lead U.S. negotiator at multilateral summits, serving as the President’s Sherpa at the G-7 and G-20 Summits and the lead negotiator at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum. He was also deeply involved with negotiations with major U.S. trading partners, such as China, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Canada and Mexico. Clete also helped the administration achieve key legislative victories, including the passage of development finance reform legislation and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reform legislation.

Prior to joining the White House, Clete worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for eight years. Among other positions, Clete served as chief counsel for negotiations, legislation and administrative law and legal advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO. He was heavily involved in both trade policy issues and WTO litigation.

Prior to joining USTR, Clete worked as counsel on the House Budget Committee and in multiple positions, including legislative director, for then-Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI). In this role, he was successful in helping pass multiple pieces of trade and energy-related legislation into law.

In addition to being part of the firm’s public law and policy practice, Clete works closely with the international trade team on issues related to the WTO, CFIUS and sanctions. He has participated in over 30 WTO proceedings.

Wendy Cutler joined the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) as Vice President in November 2015. She also serves as the managing director of the Washington D.C. Office. In these roles, she focuses on building ASPI’s presence in Washington — strengthening its outreach as a think/do tank — and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade and investment, 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). Most recently she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan. She also was the chief negotiator to the U.S.-Korea (Korus) Free Trade Agreement.

Cutler received her master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University.

Steve Suranovic is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. He received his B.S. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University. He has been a faculty member at the George Washington University since 1988. He has served several terms as the current Director of the International Economic Policy M.A. program (formerly known as the International Trade and Investment Policy M.A. program) at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Professor Suranovic teaches principles of microeconomics, international trade and international finance theory and policy. In Fall 2002, he taught at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, as a visiting Fulbright lecturer. Since 2009 he has taught summer study abroad classes for GW students at Fudan University in Shanghai. He has also spoken to business, government and academic audiences in Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Mongolia as part of the U.S. State Department’s speaker’s programs.

Professor Suranovic’s research interests include international trade policy analysis, fairness in international trade, and the behavioral economics of cigarette addiction and dieting. His most recent research evaluates unfair trade policies with China, and examines the world’s addiction to fossil fuels and the implications for global climate change.