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Expert Bio
Jennifer A. Hillman is a senior fellow for trade and international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), specializing in U.S. trade policy, the law and politics of the World Trade Organization (WTO), international organizations, and Brexit.
Hillman is a professor of practice at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching the lead courses in international business and international trade, along with a practicum on international trade and investment law that gave students the opportunity to resolve real-world problems for developing country governments and a wide variety of NGOs. She recently published Getting to Brexit: Legal Aspects of the Process of the UK’s Withdrawal from the EU (IIEL 2018) and Legal Aspects of Brexit: Implications of the United Kingdom’s Decision to Withdraw from the European Union (IIEL 2017). She also co-authored the leading casebook on trade, International Trade Law, 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer (2016). Additional writings have covered climate change, carbon taxes, the trade war with China, and reforms to the WTO.
Hillman has had a distinguished career in public service. In 2012, she completed her term as one of seven members serving on the WTO's highest court, its Appellate Body. Hillman also has in-depth experience adjudicating antidumping, countervailing duty, patent and safeguards cases along with conducting numerous studies of the economics of trade policy and trade agreements as a result of her service as a Commissioner at the United States International Trade Commission. Through her work as the General Counsel at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Hillman was involved in all litigation matters in which the United States was a party or third party in disputes before panels of the NAFTA or the WTO and in addressing the intersection between trade policy, trade law, and foreign policy. She negotiated bilateral agreements with forty-five countries while serving as USTR’s Ambassador and Chief Textiles Negotiator and was the legislative director and counsel to U.S. Senator Terry Sanford of North Carolina before joining USTR.
Hillman was a partner in the law firm of Cassidy Levy Kent, a senior transatlantic fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, president of the Trade Policy Forum, and a member of the selection panel for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. She serves on the board of visitors at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and Duke University. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Women in International Trade.
Affiliations:
- Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, board of visitors
- Georgetown University Law Center, professor from practice
- International Capital Strategies, senior advisor
- Tech for Campaigns, host committee member
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Panelists discuss U.S. trade policy, including the challenges of anti-globalization sentiment, the changing trade environment, and how the United States can develop a more coherent plan on trade. With its Renewing America initiative, CFR is evaluating nine critical domestic issues that shape the ability of the United States to navigate a demanding, competitive, and dangerous world.
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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy endeavor, has the potential to meet developing countries’ needs and spur economic growth, but the reality is often otherwise. China’s Belt and Road: Implications for the United States, the report of a CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force, provides a thorough examination of BRI and the challenges it poses to U.S. interests and proposes that the United States respond with an affirmative agenda of its own, drawing on its strengths and coordinating with allies and partners to promote sustainable, secure, and green development around the world. Check out the CFR Independent Task Force Report, China’s Belt and Road: Implications for the United States.
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Panelists discuss the latest developments in Brexit negotiations, including the main points of contention among the parties, prospect of a deal before December 31, and implications for the private sector.
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World Trade Organization (WTO)
Speakers discuss the future of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including what role the WTO can play in a COVID-19 world, who could be the next Director-General, and what changes to expect from the WTO moving forward. -
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Speakers discuss the recently enacted United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, including what is in the agreement that allowed it to pass with historically large bipartisan support and what it means for the U.S. economy and future trade agreements.
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Speakers discuss U.S. trade, including the recent USMCA deal, trade disputes with China, and possible trade conflicts with Europe.
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As the United Kingdom moves closer to an exit from the European Union, questions remain about how Brexit will influence Britain’s role on the world stage.