International Trade Administration Deputy Assistant Secretary Ian Saunders will be the U.S. nominee to become the next secretary general of the World Customs Organization. Saunders would have to win the support of a majority of countries at the WCO to become the secretary general. No American has led the organization in more than a dozen years. “Ian Saunders is a deeply respected member of the global customs community who represents the very best of America’s public service,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a news release. “Ian’s customs and trade expertise, strategic thinking, and diplomatic acumen make him uniquely suited to lead the WCO in this time of rapid global change.”
Scott Taylor, former partner at Miller & Company P.C. for over 23 years, has joined Sandler Travis as the leader of its foreign-trade zones practice area, the firm announced. Joining the New York office, Taylor will work on FTZ, international trade and customs cases, the firm said. At Miller & Company, Taylor helped structure over 550 FTZ projects, "including general-purpose zones and expansions, special-purpose subzones, subzone expansions, alternative site framework applications, boundary modifications, and scope determinations." He also served as a member of the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council for eight years.
Retired Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, who ran the U.S. Transportation Command when he was in the military, has been named the new port and supply chain envoy to the administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. He replaces John Porcari.
Venable has hired Richard DiNucci, a long-time CBP official who most recently was director of field operations in San Francisco, as a senior policy adviser in its international trade group, the law firm said. He will be based in Washington.
President Joe Biden will nominate Alexis Taylor, director of Oregon’s Department of Agriculture, to be USDA’s undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, the White House said May 13. Taylor previously oversaw USDA’s Farm Service and Foreign Agricultural Service agencies, where she worked to “open new markets and improve the competitive position of U.S. agricultural products in the marketplace,” the White House said. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praised the nomination, saying it builds on USDA's commitment to "enhance export opportunities for American farmers and producers and increase global food security."
Heather Hurlburt will be the new chief of staff for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She comes from New America, a left-of-center think tank, where she studied the intersection of political polarization and foreign policy. She replaces Ginna Lance, who was interim chief of staff.
Peter Quinter, former customs and international trade attorney at GrayRobinson, joined Gunster as the leader of its Customs and International Trade Law Group, Quinter said in a post on his LinkedIn account. Quinter advises on issues involving investigations by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Before entering private practice, Quinter served as counsel at the Southeast Regional Headquarters of the U.S. Customs Service.
Leslie Bailey, a former senior associate at Arnold & Porter, joined Covington & Burling as an associate in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, according to Bailey's LinkedIn account. Bailey worked at Arnold & Porter starting in June 2018 and served as a judicial law clerk at the Court of International Trade during 2016-2018.
Nuvocargo, a startup freight forwarder and customs brokerage, hired Jay Gerard as head of customs, the company said in a news release. Gerard, who most recently worked as global customs director-North America at Flexport, will "lead the company’s new Customs division and build out the company’s new product offerings for its customers," Nuvocargo said.
Milton Koch, former analyst at the Commerce Department and Wiley, joined Buchanan Ingersoll as a strategic consultant in the International Trade and National Security practice, the firm announced. Koch works in trade remedy investigations "by developing strategies based on in-depth analysis of complex financial data," the firm said. He joins Daniel Pickard, who chairs the practice and left Wiley in February. Pickard said Koch "is a leading expert in regard to the Commerce Department’s ... AD/CVD calculation methodologies."