Over three days, speakers will help attendees increase their professional knowledge by learning the nuts and bolts of trade policy directly from career trade policy professionals from across government, industry, and law.

Each part will highlight a different aspect of U.S. and international trade law and policy.

Friday, October 3rd, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (US/Eastern)

Monday, October 6th, 9:00 AM – 12:15 PM (US/Eastern)

Monday, October 7th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (US/Eastern)

Prices and Registration:

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.

2025 Topics

2025 Confirmed Speakers

Paul H. DeLaney, III, Vice President, Head of Government Relations, SK Americas; former International Trade Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance; former Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Iana Dreyer, Founder and Editor, Borderlex

Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy, Hinrich Foundation, former Founder and Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre

Nasim Fussell, Senior Vice President, Lot Sixteen; former Chief International Trade Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance

Timothy Keeler, Partner, Co-Leader of International Trade, Mayer Brown; former Chief of Staff, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; former Deputy to the Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Legislative Affairs

Ryan Majerus, Partner, King & Spalding; former Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

John Pickel, Vice President, International Supply Chain Policy, NFTC; former Principal Director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and former Trade Counselor, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Ted Posner, Head of National Security and Trade Risk Mitigation, Baker Botts; former Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Kevin Wolf, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security

Speaker Biographies

Paul H. DeLaney, III is Vice President, Head of Government Relations at SK Americas. As Head of Government Relations at SK Americas, Paul leads a talented government relations, public affairs, and industry strategy team that supports SK’s semiconductor and advanced materials, energy and battery, digital technology, and life sciences operations, workforce, and investments across the United States. The team advocates on U.S. federal, state and local government policy issues impacting SK’s U.S. operations and workforce, international business, and supply chains.

Paul specializes in international trade, investment, tax, supply chain, regulatory and customs advocacy and policy development. Paul has worked extensively with Executive branch agencies across four Administrations, the U.S. Congress, foreign governments, business associations, think tanks, and a wide range of companies.

Prior to joining SK Americas, Paul was a Partner at the Kyle House Group and led the firm’s international commercial policy, advocacy, counseling and dispute resolution efforts. Prior to that, Paul was Vice President for Trade and International at the Business Roundtable (BRT) where he led BRT international policy efforts through Trade and International CEO Committee and with the company representatives of the Trade and International Coordinating Committee. He partnered with BRT leadership and Trade and International CEO Committee Chair to set strategy and engage BRT CEO Members on policy priorities and advocacy. He also served as International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance where he assisted with Finance Committee hearings and legislative markups, drafted trade legislation and amendments, briefed Senators and staff, consulted with the Administration and the trade agencies, and met with stakeholders and foreign governments. Paul assisted in managing the Senate floor during the consideration of seven trade bills.

Prior to his Senate service, Paul served as a Senior Attorney for Trade and International Affairs at FedEx Express and advocated on trade policy and international regulatory issues before the U.S. and foreign governments, as well as with industry and trade associations. Paul also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to both U.S Trade Representative Rob Portman and Susan Schwab where he was integrally involved in strategic planning, agency operations and decision-making with senior political and career staff. Paul was the Office point of contact for the White House Staff Secretary, National Security Council, and National Economic Council staff to coordinate interagency actions.

Iana Dreyer is the founder and editor of Borderlex. She launched Borderlex in 2014 and remains its driving force. Iana has deep international trade policy expertise spanning over fifteen years.

Iana steers Borderlex’s editorial activities and particularly likes to write about the politics shaping EU trade policy, systemic issues at the World Trade Organization, international trade disputes, the nexus between security and trade and EU-Asian trade relations.

Before launching her publishing activity in London, Iana worked as policy analyst in think tanks with a focus on international trade and international energy policy, consulting on occasion for governments. Iana has worked with the European Centre for International Political Economy, the Institute Montaigne and the EU Institute for Security Studies. Iana has also worked for the Financial Times group and trained in journalism. Iana has post-graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po in Paris.

Dr. Deborah Elms is Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Executive Director and Founder of the Asian Trade Centre (ATC). She was also President of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and the Board Director of the Asian Trade Centre Foundation (ATCF).

Dr. Elms serves on the board of the Trade and Investment Negotiation Adviser (TINA) at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP). She was on the International Advisory Council for APCO (2021-2023) and was a member of the International Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance and Chair of the Working Group on Trade Policy and Law. She was also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Trade and Investment Council for 2018-2020.

Prior to founding ATC/ATCF and the ABTA, she was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations (TFCTN) and Senior fellow of International Political Economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Dr. Elms received a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, an MA in International Relations from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees from Boston University.

She is the author of numerous articles, editor of several books, and regularly published the Talking Trade Blog. Dr. Elms also routinely appears on television and in major newspapers and magazines around the world to comment on trade and economic issues. Dr. Elms also makes frequent appearances at a range of global trade and economic workshops, conferences, capacity building sessions, and negotiations.

Nasim Fussell is a Senior Vice President at Lot Sixteen, where she leads the firm’s trade practice. On Capitol Hill, Nasim served as the Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee under Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), spearheading the Committee’s work on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and all other trade matters.

She also served as Deputy Chief International Trade Counsel to former Chairman and late Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Prior to her work in the Senate, Nasim served as Trade Counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee, where she worked for Chairmen Brady (R-TX), Ryan (R-WI), and Camp (R-MI) to advance trade negotiations with other countries as well as trade legislation, including Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), customs reauthorization, trade preference programs, and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB).

Nasim has also worked in the private sector as a law firm partner, in-house with two multinational companies, and a trade association. She started her career at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Nasim is a member of the board of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). She holds an LLM in International & Comparative Law from GW Law School, a JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

Timothy Keeler is Partner and Co-Leader of International Trade at Mayer Brown. He joined Mayer Brown after a varied career in the US Government, serving at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the US Treasury Department (which chairs CFIUS), and the US Senate Finance Committee.

Timothy also advises and advocates for clients on high-profile International Trade law and policy, including investigations and tariff actions by the USTR under Sec. 301 of the Trade Act of 1974; safeguard investigations and tariff remedies by the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the USTR under Sec. 201 of the Trade Act of 1974; the consistency of various legal regimes – or proposed laws – with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and other international legal obligations; international trade negotiations in the WTO, Free Trade Agreements, and other arrangements; and WTO and other trade agreement litigation.

Timothy was previously the Chief of Staff in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) from 2006 – 2009, where he oversaw implementation of US policy, strategy and negotiations involving all aspects of international trade and investment matters. He worked on a number of key issues including: climate change and trade; US and China relations; WTO negotiations and litigation; free trade agreement negotiations and implementation; and CFIUS decisions.

Before working for USTR, Timothy spent more than five years at the Treasury Department from 2001 – 2006. He joined the Office of Legislative Affairs in 2001 as a Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for International Issues, where he was responsible for Treasury’s legislative strategy on issues including CFIUS, foreign exchange rate policy testimony, appropriations for US funding of the World Bank, and US participation in the International Monetary Fund. He later managed the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2002 – 2006 and assisted on all policy and personnel issues in the Office. This included leading Treasury nominees through the US Senate confirmation process, and legislative strategy on Treasury Intelligence and Anti-Terrorist Financing matters.

Timothy also served on the Presidential Transition Team in 2000–2001 as a policy coordinator on export control and trade remedy policy, handling the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration (now called the Bureau of Industry and Security) and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Earlier in his career (1998-2000), Timothy served as a professional staff member for international trade on the US Senate Finance Committee under Chairman William V. Roth (R-DE).

In recognition of his government service, Timothy was awarded the USTR Distinguished Service Award, the Treasury Distinguished Service Award, and the Treasury Secretary’s Honor Award twice.

Timothy is a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington International Trade Association. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in both the School of Law—co-teaching a course on US and WTO law, policy, and politics, and the School of Foreign Service.

Ryan Majerus is a Partner in the International Trade Team of King & Spalding. His practice covers trade remedies, trade policy and negotiations, trade agreement enforcement, import compliance, supply chains, and government procurement. He has particular experience in the steel, aluminum, automotive, agricultural, and energy industries. He recently performed the functions of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration for over a year, serving as the decisionmaker for every AD/CVD duty imposed by the U.S. He also was the Senior Policy Advisor for Supply Chains at the White House National Economic Council under President Joe Biden, where he played a central role in U.S. industrial strategy.

Prior to his 4 years in political roles at Commerce and the White House, Ryan had a decade-long legal career in the federal government, serving as the Senior Counsel for Appellate And Supreme Court Litigation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”); as Assistant General Counsel at the Office of the USTR under the first Trump Administration, where he litigated several disputes before the WTO involving U.S. trade remedies and government subsidies and was a lead on agriculture trade policy. He also was a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the DOJ, where he represented Commerce as lead counsel in dozens of trade remedies cases before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and defended numerous agencies in government contracts and bid protest litigation before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Federal Circuit.

John Pickel is Senior Director of International Supply Chain Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated solely to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce.

In this role, John sets strategic direction and executes efforts to promote efficient, resilient and stable supply chains. This includes advancing policies related to anticounterfeiting, product safety, environmental sustainability, human and labor rights, and preventing illicit trade. He also promotes the implementation of trade facilitation measures and customs best practices across government agencies and international organizations to increase predictability and enable compliance with U.S. trade laws.

John previously served as the Principal Director of Trade and Economic Competitiveness in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (Policy), where he was a primary trade and supply chain policy advisor to agency leadership, served as the DHS representative to various interagency groups and processes, and led implementation of trade-related initiatives across DHS components.

Prior to joining DHS Policy, John served in various roles at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over a decade. More recently, he was the Counsellor to the Commissioner for trade facilitation and enforcement matters. In addition to advising CBP executives on trade policy issues, John led engagement with senior administration officials, the trade community, and others to inform the development and implementation of CBP trade priorities. Earlier, John coordinated CBP Congressional Affairs efforts related to trade policy. In this role, he worked closely with Members of Congress and senior staff to shape legislation including the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) and Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act.

John has represented companies, nonprofit organizations, and cities before Congress and federal agencies at a government relations firm and worked in a leadership office in the U.S. House of Representatives.

John is a graduate of The George Washington University (B.A., Political Science).

Ted Posner serves as the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs, U.S.Treasury Department, and in this capacity is responsible for the direction of all legal activities of the Department with regard to a broad range of international economic and financial matters, including matters related to global economic stability and U.S. participation in the G-20; international banking and securities matters; national security and foreign investment in United States (CFIUS); trade and investment matters, particularly in the financial services sector; sovereign debt and development issues; U.S. participation in international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank; and climate finance and legislation and other environmental matters.

Prior to the U.S. Treasury Department, Ted worked in the private and public sectors, specializing in international trade and international arbitration. Most recently, he was a partner in the Washington, DC office of law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges (2012-2020). His career before that included law firm Crowell & Moring (2009-2012); the National Security Council (2008-2009); the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (2002-2008); the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (2001-2002); Office of Congressman Sander M. Levin (1999-2001); law firm Howard, Smith & Levin (1998-1999); and law firm Sidley & Austin (1995-1998). Following his graduation from law school in 1994, Ted clerked for Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Ted earned his law degree from Yale Law School (1994), his A.B. from Princeton University’s School of Public & International Affairs (1990), and a Certificate of International Studies from the Institut Universitaire De Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva (1991).

Kevin Wolf is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. He has more than 25 years’ experience providing advice and counselling regarding the laws, regulations, policies and politics pertaining to export controls, sanctions, national security reviews of foreign direct investments and other international trade issues. His practice focuses on Export Administration Regulations (EAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Mr. Wolf previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration (2010- 2017) with the Bureau of Industry and Security, where he developed and implemented policies pertaining to export administration issues, particularly the licensing requirements of EAR. Mr. Wolf has not previously testified before the Commission.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? 

The three-part Intensive Trade Seminar, cohosted by the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University, 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).

Registration for the Intensive Trade Seminar is open to the public and all sessions are off-the-record/Chatham House Rules.

WITA has a two-day cancellation policy for this event

* 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.

Diamond Sponsors will receive two free passes to attend the Intensive Trade Seminar; Platinum, Platinum Half, and Gold level Sponsors will receive one free pass.

Thank you to our WITA Academy Sponsors