As WTO Members prepare for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon this March, WITA International is hosting a new global webinar series: WTO Matters. The series explores the core functions of the WTO, reforms needed to keep the institution effective and relevant, and the key policy issues shaping debates.

Please join us for a discussion of how the WTO can help promote trade and development through the use of AI and digital technologies; the WTO’s Work Programme on E-Commerce; and the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions (the “e-commerce Moratorium”).

Featured Speakers:

Ambassador James Baxter, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the WTO; Co-Convenor of the WTO’s Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce

Christine Bliss, President, Coalition of Services Industries (CSI); former Assistant USTR for Services, Investment, Telecommunication, and E-Commerce

Ambassador Richard Brown, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the WTO, and Facilitator of the WTO’s Work Programme on Electronic Commerce

Johanna Hill, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Moderator: Angela Ellard, Senior Advisor (non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Ambassador James Baxter, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the WTO; Co-Convenor of the WTO’s Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce

Mr Baxter is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently First Assistant Secretary, Office of Global Trade Negotiations. He has previously served overseas as Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Permanent Mission to the WTO in Geneva and in Belgium and Japan. Mr Baxter holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Sydney. 

Christine Bliss, President, Coalition of Services Industries (CSI); former Assistant USTR for Services, Investment, Telecommunication, and E-Commerce

Ms. Christine Bliss is President of the Coalition of Services Industries (CSI). Prior to joining CSI, she served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for Services, Investment, Telecommunication, and E-Commerce. She also served as the lead U.S. negotiator in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Services Negotiations and in the WTO Bilateral Services Accession Negotiations for Russia and Saudi Arabia. 

Ms. Bliss oversaw the services and investment negotiations and was co-lead negotiator of the financial services negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and was a lead negotiator for services and financial services in previous U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Ms. Bliss led the three year Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) Review that resulted in the 2012 Model BIT. She also led the development of USTR’s digital services and investment trade agenda, which included innovative new disciplines on cross-border data flows and local server requirements. Ms. Bliss has also served as Chief Counsel and Acting Assistant USTR for Monitoring and Enforcement, responsible for managing U.S. litigating in the WTO, NAFTA, and other multilateral and bilateral trade agreements.

Before joining USTR in 2000, Ms. Bliss was Counsel to the Emergency Committee for American Trade, an association representing U.S. Fortune 500 firms on international trade, investment, and tax issues. Ms. Bliss holds a J.D. from the University of California at Davis and a LL.M. from George Washington University.

Ambassador Richard Brown, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Jamaica

His Excellency, Richard Brown, is a Jamaican career Diplomat and international trade specialist with extensive leadership experience in foreign trade policy and diplomacy. Prior to his appointment in December 2023 as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Jamaica, he was Acting Under-Secretary of the Foreign Trade Division at Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, after serving as Senior Director (2021–2023) and Director of Research and Services Sector Development (2020–2021). Previously, he held key regional and international roles, including Director of the Caribbean Community’s Single Market and Sectoral Programmes (2017–2020), Director of Trade at Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (2016–2017), and First Secretary/Counsellor at Jamaica’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva (2008–2013).

Johanna Hill, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Ms Johanna Hill began her role as Deputy Director-General in November 2023. With over 30 years of experience in international trade, Ms Hill, a native of El Salvador, has collaborated with governments and businesses to foster economic development through international policy and trade negotiations.

Before joining the WTO, Ms Hill advised firms and SMEs on trade regulations, foreign direct investment strategies, and market access. She has also held senior roles in financial institutions and has leadership experience in telecommunications regulation. Additionally, she served as Vice Minister of Economy for El Salvador, where she oversaw trade policy formulation and negotiated both bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a master’s degree from Columbia University and serves on the board of TradeExperettes.

Moderator: Angela Ellard, Senior Advisor (non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Angela Paolini Ellard is renowned for her expertise in trade and international economic policy, resolving trade barriers, negotiating outcomes, and building coalitions.

She is Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.

Ms. Ellard served as Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization from June 2021 to August 2025. During her tenure, she was responsible for dispute settlement/reform, trade remedies, market access/trade facilitation, and negotiations to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. As a diplomat and key member of the senior leadership team, she supervised the Secretariat’s facilitation of the successful conclusion and entry into force of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. She also oversaw the WTO budget and financial operations, providing transparency and accountability as well as sound fiscal management.

Previously, Ms. Ellard had a distinguished 26-year career as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel in the U.S. Congress. She achieved significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes with Congressional leaders and five Presidential administrations, including trade agreement negotiation and implementation, development programs, and U.S. trade and customs laws. Before her tenure on the Hill, she practiced law at major U.S.law firms, focusing on trade litigation, policy, and legislation.

She earned her J.D. cum laude/Tulane Law School, M.A. in Public Policy/Tulane University, and B.A. summa cum laude/Tulane’s Newcomb College.

She speaks and lectures worldwide and has received numerous awards for her leadership and contributions to trade law and policy.