Claire Reade

Claire Reade provides clients with strategic counsel and assistance with major regulatory and governmental issues in the US and China, guides Chinese companies investing or operating in the US, 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.

Ms. Reade 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 US Trade Representative for China Affairs (2010-2014) and Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement (2006-2010).

As Assistant US Trade Representative for China Affairs, Ms. Reade was responsible for managing US trade negotiations with China, developing core strategies, coordinating US 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 US, playing a leading role in nine WTO disputes.

Prior to joining USTR, Ms. Reade counseled US and foreign companies, industries, and governments on international market access issues. She also litigated in diverse US agency proceedings, court appeals, and in international dispute settlement fora, regularly representing clients on NAFTA and WTO-related goods and services matters.

Ms. Reade 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.