Keynote: An Update on U.S. Agricultural Trade Priorities by Julie Callahan, Chief Agricultural Negotiator

From the 2026 CME Group Foundation Symposium, “Toward a New International Trading System.” Julie Callahan, the chief U.S. agricultural negotiator, gave the opening keynote, “An Update on U.S. Agricultural Trade Priorities.” The symposium was made possible by the generous support of the CME Group Foundation. 

Keynote By: Julie Callahan, Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Panel 1: Perspectives from Law, Policy, and Industry

Featured Speakers:

Kathleen Claussen, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center; former Associate General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Mike Boyle, President, Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp., U.S.A.

Angela Paolini Ellard, Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), former Chief Trade Counsel, U.S. Congress and former Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization

Moderator: Ken Levinson, CEO, WITA – The International Trade Association

Panel 2: The Stakes for U.S. Agriculture

Featured Speakers:

Jayson Beckman, Mike Yanney Yeutter Institute Chair, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural Economics

Joe Glauber, Research Fellow Emeritus, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); former Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Jordan Dux, Senior Director of National Affairs, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation

Moderator: Steve White, Farm Director, KRVN Radio

Panel 3: Path Dependency and the Future of Trade

Featured Speakers:

Robert Koopman, Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International Service; former Chief Economist, World Trade Organization

Maria Pagán, Former USTR deputy and U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization

Moderator: Jill O’Donnell, Haggart-Work Director, Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance