Ep. 43 – WITA’s Friday Exchange: Constructive, Strategic, Stability: Decoding the Trump-Xi Pomp and Circumstance

Christopher Padilla is a Senior Advisor based in Brunswick’s Washington, DC office. He brings senior experience from decades spent in government policy and corporate roles, and practical perspective from his time as a supply chain practitioner. He has championed advocacy efforts on trade, tariffs, and tax policy at the highest levels of government worldwide.

Previously, Padilla led global government and regulatory affairs for IBM Corporation for 15 years. He oversaw a team of advocacy professionals in 36 countries, and trade and sanctions compliance for IBM’s global operations.

Before IBM, Padilla held senior roles in the Commerce Department. The President twice appointed him to Senate-confirmed positions, as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration. He also held roles as an Assistant United States Trade Representative, a Senior Advisor at the Department of State, and as a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Earlier, he spent 15 years in marketing, business development, and international trade relations roles at AT&T and Eastman Kodak Company. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in international economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Wendy Cutler is Senior Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), based in Washington, D.C. In this role, she focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, economic security, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia.

Cutler joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her time at USTR, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations.

Cutler has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world.

Stephen P. Vaughn is a Partner in the International Trade Team of King & Spalding, where he works primarily on international trade litigation and policy matters. In April 2019, Vaughn completed more than two years of service as General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where he managed a team of government attorneys representing U.S. interests in both trade negotiations and trade litigation. During two months in early 2017, he also served as acting U.S. Trade Representative.

Vaughn is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on current U.S. trade policy, as well as one of the most talented U.S. trade remedy litigators. He is recognized as a leading practitioner in Trade Remedies and Trade Policy by Legal 500 U.S., Chambers USA, and Chambers Global. He was named a 2024 Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting and one of Washingtonian’s 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy in 2025.

Kate Kalutkiewicz, Senior Managing Director, leads the McLarty trade practice and contributes to the firm’s Europe practice and McLarty Inbound.Kate has managed complex challenges around global trade, industrial, and investment policy for over two decades. Her experience spans roles in government, particularly in Europe and South America, where she honed her skills in negotiating complex international agreements and navigating the nuance around public-private sector interactions.

Kate most recently served as Head of US Trade Policy for Amazon, where she advocated a broad range of international trade and economic issues with the US Government, touching several sectors, including retail, creative content production and distribution, cloud services, sustainable fleet, autos, and hardline manufacturing.

Prior to that, Kate served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade at the National Economic Council, where she developed and led US trade policy initiatives. During her White House tenure, she led interagency teams responsible for the US G7 Presidency and US positions on supply chain resiliency and support for the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before serving in the White House, Kate was the Senior Trade Representative at the US Mission to the European Union from 2016-2020. While in Brussels, she was the USTR’s primary interlocutor with the European Commission and Member State authorities responsible for trade.

Before her time in Brussels, Kate held the role of USTR’s Director for European Affairs (2011-2016) and served as Associate Chief Negotiator for the US in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. She began her career at USTR as its Director for Brazil and the Southern Cone (2007-2011), where she was the principal agency representative for implementing and managing US trade policy in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Prior to USTR, Kate was a legislative assistant in the office of Senator James Talent (R-MO), where she supported the Senator on issues related to trade, foreign policy, homeland security, immigration, and the judiciary.