Ep. 42 – WITA’s Friday Exchange: Leader-to-Leader Vibes, Tariffs, and the Courts: Trade Tensions Recalibrated

Kellie Meiman Hock is a Senior Counselor at McLarty Associates and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. A long-time Latin America and trade policy hand, Kellie for over three decades has managed the most challenging issues confronting companies as they seek to manage global operations, tackle market access barriers, and grow internationally. She worked for nearly a decade as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State, serving in Bogota, Colombia, and throughout Brazil in Porto Alegre, São Paulo, and Recife. Her final posting was at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as Director for Brazil and the Southern Cone.

Kellie joined McLarty Associates in 2000, originally founding the firm’s trade and Brazil/Southern Cone practices and eventually becoming Managing Partner. She is now Senior Counselor to the firm and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She also guest lectures at University of Nebraska and McGill University. Kellie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, chairs the Women’s Foreign Policy Group Leadership Council, and is on the board of the Inter-American Dialogue and the Washington Campus

Daniel Mullaney is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and GeoEconomics Center. Most recently, he served as assistant US trade representative (AUSTR) for Europe and the Middle East in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) from 2010 to 2023. He was chief negotiator for comprehensive trade agreements with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom, as well as trade lead for the US-EU Trade and Technology Council, and was responsible for developing and implementing US trade policy in Europe, Eurasia, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Before assuming the post of AUSTR, he served as senior trade representative in the US Mission to the European Union in Brussels, where he was the principal voice for US trade policy in interactions with the EU institutions and EU member state governments, the public, and the international press. Prior to that posting, Mullaney was in USTR’s Office of General Counsel for seven years, where he represented the United States in dispute settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organization and led negotiations and acted as legal counsel for free trade and other agreements. Before joining USTR, Mullaney was in private practice for nearly twenty years, specializing in international trade law and litigation; when he entered public service, he was a partner at the law firm of Dorsey and Whitney.

Mullaney is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a BA from Amherst College, and a joint law/foreign service JD/MSFS degree from Georgetown University.

The Honorable Kelly Ann Shaw is a partner in Akin’s lobbying and public policy practice. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading international trade, global economics, and national security advisors. Her practice focuses on the complex intersection of trade, supply chains, and geopolitics, including tariff and customs issues, forced labor (UFLPA), national security measures, investment restrictions, World Trade Organization (WTO) litigation, as well as arctic, energy, global financial, and industrial policies.

Kelly Ann spent a decade in government service, holding a number of high-profile and influential roles as a senior U.S. negotiator, litigator, diplomat, and policy advisor. Most recently, she served as President Trump’s Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, where she was one of the key architects of the administration’s trade, investment, energy, and national security policies. She was also the United States’ lead negotiator (Sherpa) for the G7, G20, and APEC, and a key negotiator of the U.S.-China Phase One Deal, among others.

Prior to the White House, Shaw served as Trade Counsel to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and as Assistant General Counsel for USTR in Washington, D.C., and Geneva. She has represented the U.S. in more than 40 WTO disputes and served as a lead negotiator for several major U.S. trade negotiations.

Shaw has been named one of Washington, D.C.’s Most Influential People by Washingtonian Magazine for four consecutive years (2022-2025), a Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500, and recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America. She has testified multiple times before the U.S. Congress and has been a frequent media commentator for outlets around the world. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, a senior advisor (non-resident) for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and as a U.S. appointee to the USMCA Chapter 10 Dispute Settlement Panel Roster.

Michael J. Smart is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, where he focuses on international trade and investment policy, including market access and regulatory matters. He also advises multinational companies on sanctions, supply chain policy, and trade-related climate measures.

Mr. Smart previously served as 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 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 has appeared on CNN International, BBC News, Bloomberg News, and Channel News Asia and has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, and Financial Times.

Mr. Smart is a member of the Executive Circle of the Institute of International Economic Affairs at The George Washington University and 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).