2022 Washington Trade Symposium

Ed Gresser

Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets

Ed Gresser is Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at PPI.

Ed returns to PPI after working for the think tank from 2001-2011. He most recently served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In this position, he led USTR’s economic research unit from 2015-2021, and chaired the 21-agency Trade Policy Staff Committee.

Ed began his career on Capitol Hill before serving USTR as Policy Advisor to USTR Charlene Barshefsky from 1998 to 2001. He then led PPI’s Trade and Global Markets Project from 2001 to 2011. After PPI, he co-founded and directed the independent think tank ProgressiveEconomy until rejoining USTR in 2015. In 2013, the Washington International Trade Association presented him with its Lighthouse Award, awarded annually to an individual or group for significant contributions to trade policy.

Ed is the author of Freedom from Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy (2007).  He has published in a variety of journals and newspapers, and his research has been cited by leading academics and international organizations including the WTO, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia Universities and a certificate from the Averell Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union.

AnnMarie Highsmith

Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade

Ms. AnnMarie R. Highsmith is the Executive Assistant Commissioner (EAC) of Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  Ms. Highsmith oversees a diverse portfolio of trade enforcement, security, and facilitation to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risks to public health and safety.  Her work ranges from enforcing over 500 U.S. trade laws and overseeing 14 trade agreements, to directing CBP’s seven Priority Trade Issues in collaboration with 49 partner government agencies.

From 2013 to 2021, Ms. Highsmith served as the Deputy Chief Counsel for CBP, where she was the chief operating officer of one of the premier legal offices in Government, managing and directing a staff of 400 legal professionals in 31 offices nationwide.  In 2020, Ms. Highsmith served as Acting Chief Counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  In that capacity, she provided effective leadership for the agency's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring public safety and the security of the national food supply chain, while protecting American jobs.  Ms. Highsmith joined the Senior Executive Service (SES) as the Associate Chief Counsel (Trade and Finance), CBP, in Washington, D.C.  In that role, she served as the principal legal advisor for CBP on all matters involving customs laws, as they impact on trade, and a broad range of fiscal matters.  In 2013, she served as the Acting Associate General Counsel for General Law, in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, providing leadership and timely, practical legal advice and guidance to successfully implement the over $3 billion sequestration.  A native Californian, Ms. Highsmith began her legal career in 1992 as a Staff Attorney with the U.S. Customs Service, at the Office of the Regional Counsel, in Long Beach, California. 

Ms. Highsmith received her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1992, and her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Pepperdine University in 1988.  She is a 2011 graduate of the Harvard University Senior Managers in Government program.  In 2017, Ms. Highsmith was awarded a Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award.

Bill Jackson

Assistant United States Trade Representative for Textiles

Bill Jackson was named the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles in April 2016.  He is responsible for conducting and overseeing negotiations affecting textile and apparel products, advising the U.S. Trade Representative on textile and apparel trade policy matters, and working to expand the industry’s access to foreign markets. He was the lead negotiator on textiles and apparel for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Mr. Jackson served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade preference program from 2010 to 2016 and Director for African Affairs at USTR from 2002 to 2010, during which he worked on a wide variety of U.S.-African trade and investment issues, including administration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preference program. 

Before coming to USTR, Mr. Jackson was Director of Government Relations and Policy at the Africa-America Institute, a leading American nongovernmental organization involved in education and exchange programs for and with Africans. He also served for thirteen years as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, where his assignments included postings in Sri Lanka and Liberia and policy jobs in African and Central Asian Affairs. 

Mr. Jackson is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and has a master’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Jennifer Knight

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and Materials

Industry and Analysis

 As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and Materials (TCGM), Jennifer Knight oversees the Office of Textiles and Apparel, the Office of Materials Industries and the Office of Consumer Goods within the International Trade Administration’s Industry and Analysis unit.

Dr. Sheng Lu

Associate Professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies

University of Delaware

Dr. Sheng Lu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware. He also serves as a consultant for the International Trade Centre (ITC) co-run by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). With over 70 publications in academic and trade journals, Dr. Lu’s research focuses on the economic and business aspects of the textile and apparel industry, including international trade, trade policy, and the governance of the global apparel value chain. Dr. Lu received the 2014 Rising Star Award and 2019 Mid-Career Excellence Award from the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) to recognize his research and teaching excellence. He is also the multiple-time recipient of the Paper of Distinction Award at the ITAA annual conferences for his study on the textile and apparel specific-sectoral impact of mega free trade agreements. Several of his studies were cited by government reports such as the Congressional Research Service (CRS) studies prepared for members of U.S. Congress, U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) official assessment on the economic impacts of free trade agreements as well as the World Bank, International Labor Organization, and the United Nations research publications. Dr. Lu’s published works also have been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Thai and regularly featured by the media outlet.

Andrew Olah

CEO and Partner, Olah Inc.

He helped produce the capstone jeans brand course at the Fashion Institute of Technology for fifteen years.
 
Andrew believes in sharing ideas and creating community to implement the changes needed to move the denim industry into being more environmentally viable,  

With this in mind he started Kingpins Transformers in 2014 which became the Transformers Foundation in 2020.

Andrew Olah has worked in the textile business since 1976 and focused on the jeans industry since 1979.  He is the second generation leader of his company which in 2022 will celebrate their 63rd year in business.

In 2004 Andrew created the Kingpins Show – the first-ever denim supply chain trade show.   

Avedis H. Seferian

President & CEO
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

Avedis H. Seferian joined WRAP in 2004 and became its President and CEO in 2012. He has extensive knowledge of social responsibility issues within the highly complex worldwide supply chains of the apparel, textile and footwear sectors. A recognized expert in the area of social compliance and responsible sourcing, Mr. Seferian was named by Assent Compliance as one of the Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders for 2020. He often speaks on topics in this field at different forums around the world and has contributed to many leading trade publications and news outlets. Mr. Seferian is the Chairman of the Executive Board (and a member of the Stakeholder Board) of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) and sits on the Impartiality Committees of several audit organizations; he also served on the Board of Advisors of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Mr. Seferian began his career working for a business research and development organization before migrating over to legal research. Prior to joining WRAP, he was with a small law firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Seferian has also taught in various capacities in the business and legal arenas, including as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland University College. He speaks five languages, has lived in four countries and holds three degrees from three continents - a Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University in India; an MBA from the American University of Armenia; and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in the United States, where he was a Law Fellow and made the Dean’s List.

Mr. Seferian is a member of the American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar. He resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and their 2 sons.

Lynn Sicade

Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State

Lynn Sicade is the Office Director of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor’s Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs (DRL/MLGA). DRL/MLGA handles an array of human rights and democracy policy issues with respect to the United Nations (UN), Internet freedom and technology, business and human rights, marginalized populations, civil society, good governance, and visa issuance.

Ms. Sicade began her career in the U.S. Department of State in 1990. She has served in El Salvador, the United Kingdom, the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau and the East Asia and Pacific Bureau. She joined DRL in 2001. An expert on human rights and the United Nations, Ms. Sicade has represented the U.S. at the UN where she negotiated and delivered positions on behalf of the U.S. She has authored several UN resolutions, most notably the resolution that created the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly. She has received numerous superior and meritorious honor awards.

Prior to joining DRL, Ms. Sicade served as a special assistant to the U.S. representative to the Guarantors of the Rio Protocol. In this capacity she worked with the team that set the foundation for peace between Ecuador and Peru.

David Spooner

USFIA Washington Counsel

Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

David M. Spooner is a partner in the Corporate Department in Barnes & Thornburg’s Washington, D.C., office.  Mr. Spooner represents governments, trade associations, and corporate clients on international trade matters, including trade remedies, trade policy and customs issues.  He uses his past experience as a high-level political appointee in the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill to assist clients with their advocacy efforts before both branches of government, as well as before foreign governments.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Spooner served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration.  In that capacity, Mr. Spooner led U.S. Government enforcement of trade remedy laws, principally the antidumping and anti-subsidy laws.  He administered the Foreign Trade Zone system; oversaw apparel trade policy and the implementation of laws governing trade in apparel; managed trade remedy negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as dispute resolution proceedings at the WTO; chaired U.S.-China talks on macroeconomic reforms and the steel industry; and supervised the US Department of Commerce’s import safety initiatives.

Prior to his Senate confirmation as Assistant Secretary, Mr. Spooner served as the Chief Textile and Apparel Negotiator and Transition Coordinator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).  While at USTR, he was a principal negotiator for free trade agreements with Central America, the Dominican Republic, Singapore, Australia, Chile, Panama, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Peru, principally negotiating customs enforcement, apparel and textile, origin and safeguard provisions.  He was heavily involved in building support for congressional passage of the Bush Administration’s trade agenda.  Mr. Spooner also negotiated a comprehensive apparel trade agreement with China and concluded bilateral customs and quota arrangements with several nations.

Before his appointment to USTR, Mr. Spooner worked on Capitol Hill, managing the Washington D.C. office and serving as the legislative director and press secretary for a member of Congress, serving as Communications Director for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, and working for the U.S. House Committee on Rules, which manages debate and amendments in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Spooner earned his J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.

He is admitted to practice in Washington, D.C., and Virginia and before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

David Sullivan

U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (on Responsible Business Conduct), and Senior Advisor on Corporate Social Responsibility

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs

David Sullivan was named the U.S. National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (on Responsible Business Conduct), and Senior Adviser on Corporate Social Responsibility in November 2021. In this capacity he promotes business conduct that is not only commercially viable, but also conducted in a manner consistent with high standards related to labor, the environment, human rights, and other sustainability factors. The role of the NCP is to promote awareness of the OECD Guidelines, to facilitate their practical application, and to seek to resolve, through mediation or conciliation, disputes or “specific instances” regarding an enterprise’s conduct.

Previously, David was a senior State Department attorney. He joined the Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser in 1998, and since then served as an Attorney-Adviser in offices for international claims, law enforcement, the Western Hemisphere, employment and ethics, human rights, and economic and business affairs. He also served as the senior legal adviser to the U.S. Mission to the UN in Geneva.

David’s prior legal work has been with the Department of the Treasury, White & Case, and the Alaska Supreme Court. He has also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Eswatini and worked for IBM.

David has a law degree from Yale Law School, a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a bachelor’s degree from Yale College. He is from Cleveland, Ohio.