Matthew Nicely, a Hughes Hubbard lawyer, is the new president of the Customs and International Trade Bar Association. Michele Lynch, with the Commerce Department, succeeds him as vice president. Emily Beline, a senior counsel for international regulatory affairs with FedEx, is now secretary; and Alice Kipel, executive director of regulations and rulings in the CBP Office of Trade, is the group’s new treasurer. CITBA held its annual meeting May 27, “by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic,” it said.
The acting assistant U.S. trade representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy has been given the permanent position, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced June 12. Julie Callahan, who had two previous positions in agricultural affairs at USTR, previously was at FDA, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and the American Chemical Society. Callahan has a doctorate in marine chemistry.
Joshua Holzer, previously chief counsel for global trade at Pfizer, joined the StoneTurn advisory firm, StoneTurn said in a news release. The company said Holzer “offers a unique, practical understanding of economic sanctions,” export controls and import matters.
A former AFL-CIO attorney has joined the House Ways and Means Committee trade staff to help oversee the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., announced May 18. “Critical to the USMCA’s success is its proper implementation, particularly of its rigorous general and labor enforcement mechanisms,” he said. “I am delighted to welcome Ms. [Kelly Marie] Fay Rodríguez to the Ways and Means Committee trade staff. Her legal background and experience organizing and engaging with workers and the labor community in the United States and overseas make her a valuable complement to our existing team of talented professionals.”
Jamieson Greer, chief of staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from May 2017, is joining King & Spalding as a partner in its international trade practice. The law firm said that Greer was involved in negotiations for the phase one deal with China and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “He also played a key role for USTR in the legislative reform of U.S. foreign investment reviews and implementation of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act by [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.],” the firm said. Last year, King & Spalding hired Steven Vaughn, the general counsel at USTR.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, assistant U.S. trade representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy, has told industry representatives in her sector that she's retiring. Corn Refiners Association CEO John Bode said farmers, ranchers and agribusiness companies are grateful for her public service. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't comment
Janet Fields, director of risk management at John S. James Co., was elected April 18 the new National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America president, replacing Amy Magnus, who will now be chairman of the board. Fields has spent her whole career at John S. James Co., and has been a licensed customs broker since 1988.
James Holbein retired as director of the International Trade Commission’s Office of Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements (TATA) in early February, an ITC spokesperson said. In that role, he had been responsible for maintaining and publishing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule since 2014. Holbein is now listed as of counsel at Braumiller Law Group. Cathy DeFilippo, director of the ITC’s Office of Operations, is now acting director of TATA, the spokesperson said. The director of TATA reports to the director of Operations.
Ana Hinojosa, who previously served as a World Customs Organization director, is the “newly appointed Executive Director for the Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate” at CBP, according to a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee document.
Travis Skinner, who was previously a senior counselor to the CBP commissioner, is now director of Trade Modernization, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, during the April 15 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting.