An event in USCET’s Distinguished Speakers Series
Washington, DC
December 3, 2026
Four women have served as United States Trade Representative during pivotal moments in America’s economic relationship with China, collectively shaping U.S. trade policy across four administrations and four decades — from the opening bids of the early 1990s and China’s entry into the WTO, through the tariff wars, technology controls, and supply chain upheavals of the present day. They have sat across the table from Chinese counterparts through boom years and breakdown years alike, negotiating in moments when the relationship still ran on cautious optimism and in moments when it had hardened into strategic rivalry. They have never shared a stage together – until now. They are:
- Ambassador Carla Hills, 1989–1993
- Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, 1997–2001
- Ambassador Susan Schwab, 2006–2009
- Ambassador Katherine Tai, 2021–2025
On December 3 from 10:45 to 12:00 pm, they will reflect candidly on the deals they closed, the moments that didn’t go as planned, and the decisions they might revisit with the benefit of hindsight. They will also turn to the present and the future: what today’s policymakers should learn from four decades of engagement and estrangement, and what choices now confront the United States as it navigates its most consequential and complicated bilateral economic relationship.
Panelists
Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky is Chair of Parkside Global Advisors and former United States Trade Representative. She served as U.S. Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001 and as Acting and Deputy USTR from 1993 to 1996. As a member of President Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, Barshefsky was responsible for shaping U.S. trade policy and negotiating hundreds of trade, market access, and investment agreements around the world. She is particularly known as the architect and chief U.S. negotiator of the landmark agreement that paved the way for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, as well as for negotiations involving financial services, telecommunications, high-technology products, and intellectual property. Barshefsky previously served as Senior International Partner at WilmerHale and currently chairs the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. She also serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ambassador Carla A. Hills is a Senior Counselor at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group and a distinguished leader in U.S. trade policy and international economic affairs. She served as United States Trade Representative from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush, acting as the President’s principal adviser on international trade policy and chief U.S. trade negotiator. During her tenure, Hills negotiated and concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement and led U.S. negotiations in the Uruguay Round, which helped lay the foundation for the World Trade Organization. Earlier in her career, she served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Gerald Ford and as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Hills is Chair Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and Honorary Chair of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Inter-American Dialogue. She earned her B.A. from Stanford University and J.D. from Yale Law School.
Ambassador Susan C. Schwab is Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Strategic Advisor in Mayer Brown’s International Trade practice, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Foreign Trade Council. She served as United States Trade Representative from 2006 to 2009 and as Deputy USTR from 2005 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. As USTR, Schwab concluded free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, and South Korea, launched the initial Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, participated in the WTO Doha Round, and pursued or resolved major trade disputes involving China, Canada, and the European Union. Her career has also included service as Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, and Director of Corporate Business Development at Motorola, where she worked on business negotiations in China and elsewhere in Asia.
Ambassador Katherine Tai is Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Coalition for New Trade and served as the 19th United States Trade Representative from 2021 to 2025. As a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, she was the administration’s principal trade adviser, negotiator, and spokesperson and led the development of its worker-centered approach to trade policy. Before her unanimous Senate confirmation as USTR, Tai served as Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director for the House Ways and Means Committee, where she played a central role in negotiations surrounding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Earlier, she served at USTR as a WTO litigator and later as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement. Tai began her career in private legal practice and also taught English in Guangzhou, China, as a Yale-China Association fellow. She holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is fluent in Mandarin.
Moderator
Ambassador Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. is Vice Chairman and President of Strategic Growth at Mastercard, where he leads work on partnerships with governments and public-sector institutions as well as the company’s inclusive growth, philanthropy, and sustainability initiatives. Huntsman has held senior public-service roles under both Republican and Democratic administrations, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, China, and Russia. He is the only American to have served as chief of mission in both China and Russia. Huntsman also served as Deputy United States Trade Representative, negotiating trade and investment agreements across Asia and Africa, and was twice elected Governor of Utah. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions in the U.S. Department of Commerce and the private sector. He currently serves on the boards of Ford Motor Company and Chevron and is a trustee of the Huntsman Foundation. Huntsman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.