This online program is a unique opportunity to engage with government officials, WTO leaders and counsellors, and leading trade lawyers and practitioners. The program is suitable for experienced practitioners looking to engage with experts on cutting-edge issues affecting international economic relations as well as students and professionals new to the field. All sessions will be recorded and made accessible.
In a world of profound economic inter-dependencies, the Biden Administration has to regain trust of allies and trading partners in the East and the West while balancing domestic interests. As global challenges emerge and change ever more quickly including the exponential digitalization of society and increasing environmental degradation of our planet, the international community needs both US leadership and coordination among states working together to rebuild trust in a multilateral but flexible, rules-based approach to trade relations.
This Course will explore trade law and policy. The Course connects participants with leading policy makers, trade lawyers, and officials at the forefront of current trade developments. With interactive online sessions, the course provides a stimulating learning experience for students interested in trade as well as advanced practitioners who want to take part in shaping the future of international trade. The issues covered include: Overview of both WTO and US trade regimes; regional trading arrangements with particular attention to USMCA, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between China and the EU; Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); trade and climate change; trade, labor and migration; trade and gender; trade and health; and digital trade.
The course is co-directed by Professor Padideh Ala’i and Dr. Renata Amaral. Professor Padideh Ala’i is Professor of Law and Director of International and Comparative Legal Studies at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), and Director of AUWCL’s Program on Trade, Investment and Development. Dr. Renata Amaral is an International Trade Scholar, Founder of Women Inside Trade, and an Adjunct Professor at AUWCL.
For more information please email internationaltrade@wcl.american.edu
Padideh Ala’i is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law and Director of the prestigious Trade, Investment and Development Program. She specializes in international economic law, law of the World Trade Organization, and comparative law. Padideh is additionally a Director of the WTO and U.S. Trade Law Summer Program.
Renata Amaral is an experienced international trade lawyer from Brazil, and the Founder of Women Inside Trade. She is an Adjunct Professor as well as a visiting International Trade Scholar at American University Washington College of Law, and the Co-Director of the WTO and U.S. Trade Law Summer Program.
John Cobau is Chief Counsel for International Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce, serving as the lead attorney for the International Trade Administration. His office advises the International Trade Administration and senior Department officials on U.S. and international trade and investment law, particularly concerning export and investment promotion and trade agreements compliance
Daniel Crosby is Partner and manager of the Geneva office at King & Spalding, where he specializes in international trade, investment, and matters related to public international law. He primarily helps sovereign and business clients achieve economic objectives by applying and negotiating international agreements.
Juan Antonio Dorantes is Managing Partner at Dorantes Advisors. He is a former Director General of International Trade Rule at Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy, where, he served as Mexico’s lead for the negotiation on technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, regulatory cooperation, regulatory coherence, trade remedies, trade and environment, government procurement, trade and labor, trade and competition policy, as well as intellectual property rights of Free Trade Agreements at multilateral, regional or bilateral level.
Alexis Early is a partner in King & Spalding’s International Trade Group, where she helps devise regulatory and policy solutions for clients. Alexis counsels companies, financial institutions, and individuals on economic sanctions, export controls, anti-money laundering, and CFIUS national security reviews of foreign investments. She represents clients in compliance and enforcement proceedings before the Treasury Department, State Department, Commerce Department, and Department of Homeland Security, and advocates for them on Capitol Hill. She is additionally an American University Washington College of Law Alumni.
Angela Ellard is WTO Deputy Director-General. Prior to joining the WTO, she had a distinguished career of service working at the US Congress as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel and Staff Director. She is internationally recognized as an expert on trade and international economic policy, negotiating trade agreements and supporting multilateral solutions as part of an effective trade and development policy.
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Stacy Ettinger is a partner at K&L Gates where she focuses her practice on international trade, investment, and regulatory matters. She joined K&L Gates after serving over nine years as Senior Legal and Policy Advisor to Senate Democratic Leader, Charles Schumer, and as Associate Chief Counsel for Import Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Simon Evenett is a Professor of International Trade and Economic Development and specializes in how governments tilt the commercial playing field in favour of local firms. At the start of the Global Financial Crisis, Simon created the Global Trade Alert initiative, the leading independent monitor of protectionism and commercial policy choice based at the University of St Gallen.
Sean Flynn is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law and Director of the Information Justice and Intellectual Property Program. He specializes in intellectual property law, trade law, and human rights law. In addition, Professor Sean Flynn designs and manages a wide variety of research and advocacy projects that promote public interest in intellectual property and information law.
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David A. Gantz is the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics. He is also the Samuel M. Fegtly Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and director emeritus of the international trade and business law program, and he serves as an affiliated faculty member of the Latin American Studies department and of the Institute of the Environment. Gantz has taught courses in international trade law, international environmental law, NAFTA and other regional trade agreements, public international law, international business transactions, international investment and technology transfer, European Union law, Latin American economic history and the U.S. legal system.
Steve Gardner is Chief Counsel for the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He directs all CLDP activities and operations worldwide. CLDP improves the legal environment for business in more than 60 countries each year. Steve has played a key role in both designing and managing technical assistance strategies on the full range of issues that CLDP addresses, including, energy transition, digital connectivity and cybersecurity, trade agreement implementation, protection of intellectual property rights, green procurement, judicial reform, arbitration, infrastructure, regulatory reform, government ethics, and product standards.
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Arancha González Laya is the third Dean of PSIA at Sciences Po and first woman to lead the world's third school for Politics and International Studies. Prior to joining PSIA, she served as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. She previously was Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre.
Gary Horlick provides legal counsel and representation in international trade, investment and dispute resolution. He has gained experience in senior positions in Congress and the Executive Branch, including as Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and Head of Import Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Gary Hufbauer is a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He was previously a Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, he was the Maurice Greenberg Chair and Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the deputy assistant secretary for international trade and investment policy of the US Treasury. Hufbauer has written extensively on international trade, investment, and tax issues.
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Michael Jacobson is Counsel in the International Trade and Investment and International Arbitration practices of Hogan Lovells, where he represents clients on a broad range of matters relating to international dispute settlement, trade, and investment. He is also an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law.
Ambassador Alejandro Jara was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Chile to the World Trade Organization in 2000. He has served in numerous positions at the WTO, including as Deputy Director General from 2005-2013. Presently, he practices international trade law in Santiago, Chile, and teaches in several universities.
Robert Koopman serves as Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division at the World Trade Organization. Prior to joining the WTO he spent 15 years as Chief Operating Office and Chief Economist at the United States International Trade Commission, where he oversaw the Commission’s various lines of business, from trade policy research to trade remedy investigations and providing guidance and advice to USTR and Congress. Prior to his 15 years at USTR Robert spent 15 years at USDA working on agricultural trade policy issues, including the Uruguay Round and the transition of the European planned economies. Robert has additionally served as an Associate Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland and will be joining American University's School of International Service in the fall as a Distinguished Practitioner.
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Simon Lester is President of the China Trade Monitor and Co-Founder and President of WorldTradrLaw.net. He previously served as Associate Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. In addition, Simon served for many years as a Legal Affairs Officer at the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization, where he assisted with all aspects of the conduct of individual appeals and arbitrations before the Appellate body. He additionally has taught courses on international trade law at American University’s Washington College of Law.
Mary Lovely is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute, and Professor of Economics and Melvin A. Eggers Faculty Scholar at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she combines interests in international economics and China’s development. During 2011-15, she served as coeditor of the China Economic Review.
John Magnus is is President of Trade Wins LLC, a trade law and policy consultancy. He serves as external counsel to firms and industry coalitions and represents clients on a broad array of international trade issues. He is also an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law.
Neysun Mahboubi is a Research Scholar of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Lecturer in Law at Penn Law School. His academic interests are in the areas of administrative law, comparative law, and Chinese law.
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Inu Manak is an expert in international political economy, with a specialization in international trade policy and law. She is a Fellow for Trade Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as Book Review Editor for the World Trade Review. Inu is a former Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, where her research focused on the World Trade Organization, nonjudicial treaty mechanisms, technical barriers to trade, regional trade agreements, and development. She holds a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University and a Master’s in International Affairs, U.S. Foreign Policy from American University.
Devin McDaniels is an Economic Affairs Officer in the Trade and Environment Division of the World Trade Organization. Additionally, he is the deputy-Secretary of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee. Devin advises WTO Member governments on issues at the intersection of standards, regulation, and trade. He holds degrees in economics, international relations, and environmental policy from the University of British Columbia and the University of Oxford.
Matthew Nicely is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. His practice covers the full range of the U.S. trade regulatory regime, including trade policy, trade remedies, customs, export controls, economic sanctions, antiboycott and anticorruption laws. He also advises clients on opportunities and risks presented by international obligations under bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment agreements, including World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution and counseling.
Victor do Prado is the Director of Council and TNC Division at the WTO. He previously served as a Counsellor in the WTO Rules Division where he acted as a Secretary of the WTO Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. During his work at the WTO, he held the position of the Chairman of the Subsidies Committee, served as a panelist in various cases and was a Member of the Brazilian Delegation in dispute settlement proceedings several times. In addition, Victor has lectured at the University of Paris, the Freie Universität Berlin and at Georgetown University Law School.
Emily Rees is a Senior Fellow at ECIPE and Managing Director at Trade Strategies, a trade and regulatory advisory consultancy. She is a regular guest lecturer in international political economy, her analyses are regularly featured in European and Latin America media, including The Economist, BBC, Sky News, LN24, Valor Econômico and Estado de São Paulo.
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Jeff Schott is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics where he works on international trade policy and economic sanctions. Prior to his role at the Peterson Institute, he was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an official with the U.S. Treasury Department in international trade and energy policy.
Sarah V. Stewart is the Executive Director of Silverado Policy Accelerator. She has nearly two decades of experience as an international trade lawyer, trade policy expert, and trade negotiator. Prior to joining Silverado, she led the public policy efforts at Amazon on U.S. trade policy and export controls matters. Sarah also worked for the Office of the United States Trade Representative as the Deputy Assistant USTR for Environment and Natural Resources. During her time at USTR, she led the environment chapter negotiator for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with the European Union. In addition, she is in the advisory board of American University's Washington College of Law Program on Environmental and Energy Law.
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Antony Taubman is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics where he works on international trade policy and economic sanctions. Prior to his role at the Peterson Institute, he was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an official with the U.S. Treasury Department in international trade and energy policy.
J. Anthony VanDuzer is a professor at the University of Ottawa and the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law. He teaches contracts and upper-year courses on domestic and international business law. Antony has been a member of the Academic Advisory Council to the Deputy Minister for International Trade and participated in technical assistance projects relating to business and trade law in transition and developing economies, including Armenia, Bangladesh, China, El Salvador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam. In addition, he has acted as an outside legal assessor for the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, providing advice on a draft Foreign Trade Law for Bosnia-Herzegovina and a draft Competition Protection Act for Bulgaria.
Rolando Alcala is the Economic Affairs Officer in the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the WTO. The main focus of his work is the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement); SPS related dispute settlement at the WTO and providing technical assistance on SPS related matters.
Roberto Alvarez is the Executive Director of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, a global network of organizations devoted to accelerating global competitiveness and prosperity. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Global Policy Institute of Queen Mary University in London.
Welber Barral has served as the Brazilian Secretary of International Trade, judge at the Mercosur Mercosur Revision Court, and panelist at the World Trade Organization. He is currently a board member at BMJ Consulting in Brazil, Director of International Trade at FIESP, and an advisor to the American Chamber Brazil.
Rambod Behboodi is a Partner in the international trade practice at King & Spalding. He has extensive experience as a trade litigator advising on and arguing NAFTA and WTO cases. Before joining King & Spalding, Behboodi was Counsellor at the Rules Division of the World Trade Organization.
Dan Ciuriak is the Director and Principal of Ciuriak Consulting, Inc., an Ottowa-based consultancy focusing on international trade, finance and development, and financial services regulatory policy. He is additionally a Senior Fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and a Fellow-in-Residence with the C.D. Howe Institute. Previously, Dan served in many positions with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), including as the Deputy Chief Economist.
Aluisio de-Lima Campos is Chairman of the ABCI Institute and an Adjunct Professor, Distinguished Trade Policy Analyst, and Scholar in Residence at American University. Previously, he served as Economic Advisor to the Embassy of Brazil in Washington, D.C.
Henry Gao is an Associate Professor of Law at Singapore Management University and a Dongfang Scholar Chair Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. He started his career in international trade as the first Chinese lawyer at the WTO Secretariat.
Jennifer Hillman is a Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy at the Council on Foreign Relations. She specializes in U.S. trade policy, the law and politics of the WTO, international organizations, and Brexit.
Bruce Hirsh is founder of Tailwind Global Strategies LLC and serves as “Of Counsel” to Capitol Counsel, LLC. His work is informed by his international trade experience in various positions, including in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the WTO, and in Congress. Notably, Bruce led the U.S. negotiating team for the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
David Hunter is a Professor of international and comparative environmental law at the Washington College of Law, and Founder of Peregrine Environmental Consulting, a firm that provides advice on international environmental standards, sustainable development policy, and NGO management. Previously, he was the Executive Director of the Center for International Environmental Law.
Suzanne Kane is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she counsels clients on U.S. laws and policies affecting international trade and business, including customs and import controls. She previously served over six years as a senior attorney-advisor at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Jesse Kreier is Former Counsellor and Chief Legal Officer of the WTO Rules Division, where he left after 26 years of service in 2018. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law.
Desiree LeClercq teaches international labor law at the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations. Prior to joining Cornell, she spent four years as the Director for Labor Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and nearly a decade as Legal Officer to the International Labor Organization. Desirée additionally served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law.
Dr. Reto Malacrida is Counsellor and Head of the Government Procurement and Competition Policy Group of the Intellectual Property, Government Procurement, and Competition Division of the World Trade Organization. He is also a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and a Member of the Model WTO Advisory Board.
Sheridan McKinney is a Partner in the D.C.-based law and policy consulting firm, Gilliland & McKinney International Counsellors. His practice covers a broad array of trade matters, including WTO issues, trade remedy litigation, the U.S. trade embargo to Cuba, and lobbying on active international trade negotiations.
Martin Molinuevo is an expert in international economic law with a specialty in trade. He is currently a Senior Trade Policy Specialist at the World Bank, where he assists governments of developing countries on policy and trade and investment regulations. He is also an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law.
Nithya Nagarajan is a Partner at Husch Blackwell, where she focuses on trade-remedy strategy and antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings. Her experiences working at the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Court of International Trade give her valuable perspective as she advises clients on U.S. trade and trade remedies.
Maria Pereyra is a Senior Counsellor with the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization, where she leads teams of Secretariat lawyers and other staff assisting panels in WTO dispute settlement proceedings and provides legal advice to WTO Members and staff members on issues relating to WTO law.
Jennifer Poole is an Associate Professor at American University’s School of International Service, where she researches and teaches on issues relating to international trade, labor, and development economics. She recently served as Senior International Economist on President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and as a visiting scholar at the World Bank.
Ricardo Ramirez is the founding partner of RRH Consultores S.C., which provides legal advice in international trade law. He has broad experience in the field including arbitrating cases under trade agreements and investment arbitration tribunals and serving as an appointed Member of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization. Ricardo graduated from the International Legal Studies Program at American University Washington College of Law in 1994.
Dr. Jan Yves Remy is the Deputy Director of the Shridath Ramphal Centre and an experienced international trade lawyer who has advised governments and private stakeholders on international trade matters, with a focus on WTO dispute settlement.
Michelle Ratton Sanchez Badin is an Assistant Professor at FGV São Paulo School of Law (Brazil) in the Law and Development program. She is the coordinator of the FGV/SP Center of Global Law and Development, co-coordinator of the WTO Chair in Brazil, and a founding member of the Society for International Economic Law.
Amelia Santos-Paulino, PhD, is Senior Economist and the Chief of Investment Research in the Division on Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, the United Nations body on trade and development. She is also the Deputy Editor of the Transnational Corporations Journal.
Hal Shapiro is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and former Head to the firm’s International Trade Practice Group. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. Previously, Hal gained experience in leadership roles at the National Economic Council and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Andrew Shoyer co-leads Sidley Austin’s Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy practice. Drawing on his seven years of experience at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the World Trade Organization, Andy focuses on the implementation and enforcement of international trade and investment agreements.
Eric Solovy is a Partner at Sidley Austin where he counsels companies, trade associations, and governments on international trade matters and related legal disputes. His work focuses on the implementation and enforcement of international trade and investment agreements. Eric is additionally an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law.
Debra Steger was the first director of the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO. During the Uruguay Round, she was Canada’s principal legal counsel and senior negotiator on dispute settlement and the establishment of the WTO. Currently, she is professor emerita at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, and a Senior Fellow at CIGI and the C.D. Howe Institute.
Peter Van den Bossche is Director of Studies of the World Trade Institute, Professor of International Economic Law at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and President of the Society of International Economic Law. Previously, he was a member of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization and served as its chairman in 2015.
Commissioner Irving Williamson served as a Commissioner of the United States International Trade Commission from 2007 until 2014. He additionally served as Chairman (2012-2014, 2017-2019) and Vice Chairman (2010-2012). Commissioner Williamson has over 50 years of experience in the international and trade policy fields, including as United States Trade Representative Deputy General Counsel.
Erik Wijkstrom joined the World Trade Organization in 1995 and has worked in several areas of trade policy relating to standards and regulation. Currently, he heads the Technical Barriers to Trade Team within the Trade and Environment Division.
Ambassador Alan Wolff has been a Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization since October 2017. He is one of the world’s leading lawyers in international trade law, and was formerly Chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council, and Senior Counsel at the global law firm Dentons.
Ambassador Rufus Yerxa is President of the National Foreign Trade Council, where he oversees NFTC’s efforts in favor of a more open, rules-based world economy. He has more than four decades of experience as a lawyer, diplomat, U.S. trade negotiator, and international official, including as Deputy Director-General of the WTO from 2002 until 2013.