Claire Reade provides clients with strategic counsel and assistance with major regulatory and governmental issues in the U.S. and China, guides Chinese companies investing or operating in the U.S., and advises a broad range of clients on strategic and legal issues and policies related to other international matters, including trade negotiations, trade litigation, and dispute settlement under the World Trade Organization (WTO). She has more than three decades of experience handling international trade strategy, negotiations, and litigation.
She returned to the firm in 2015 after an eight-year tenure at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where she served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs (2010-2014) and Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement (2006-2010).
As Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, Claire was responsible for managing U.S. trade negotiations with China, developing core strategies, coordinating U.S. interagency efforts, and leading successful efforts to eliminate key trade barriers. In her role as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement, she was responsible for coordinating USTR efforts to ensure that China met its international trade obligations to the U.S., playing a leading role in nine WTO disputes, as well as the special safeguard action against Chinese tires.
Prior to joining USTR, Claire counseled U.S. and foreign companies, industries, and governments on international market access issues. She also litigated in diverse U.S. agency proceedings, court appeals, and in international dispute settlement fora, regularly representing clients on NAFTA and WTO-related goods and services matters. She has helped clients on a wide range of U.S. trade law investigations, from countervailing duty and antidumping cases, to Section 301 cases and Section 201 safeguard actions.
She has frequently served as an outside lecturer, including at the Foreign Service Institute, National War College, and Washington area universities, and she is a well-known speaker at international trade events.
Perspectives
Recognition
Credentials
Education
- J.D., Harvard Law School, 1979, cum laude
- M.A.L.D., Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1979
- Sheldon Fellow, Harvard University, 1979
- B.A., Wesleyan University, 1973, magna cum laude
Admissions
- District of Columbia
Government & Military Service
- Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs and Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Activities
- Former Co-Chair, ABA International Trade Law Section
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Member, Council on Foreign Relations
- Member, Trade Policy Forum
- Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies