Ronald Baumgarten brings his extensive experience in international trade law and negotiations to the BakerHostetler International Trade and National Security team. Ron represents clients on international trade matters, including AD/CVD proceedings before the U.S. Department of Commerce and ITC; appeals to USMCA panels and the U.S. Court of International Trade; agricultural trade market access; and trade law and policy advice. Before leaving government to rejoin BakerHostetler, he served from 2018 to 2021 as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Prior to this time working on regional matters, he was the Director, and later Senior Director, in the USTR Office of Agricultural Affairs from 2010 to 2018. Ron also gained valuable experience as Associate General Counsel with the USTR Office of the General Counsel, where he litigated WTO disputes and advised on trade remedies.
Ron has the knowledge and insights to provide sophisticated advice and counsel to clients who are operating in a world characterized by increasingly complex trade and investment relationships. He has provided legal and strategic advice to clients regarding a variety of matters, including litigation and legislative issues regarding USMCA implementation and enforcement; Section 301 duties on imports from China; mitigation of AD/CVD risks; and import requirements under USDA animal and plant health regulations.
Ron also has presented to a variety of business and government audiences at home and abroad on U.S. trade policy, including the United States’ Indo-Pacific trade initiatives (IPEF) and international tax matters implicating EV battery and critical mineral trade.
While in government, he developed and implemented U.S. trade and investment policies with respect to Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore on a variety of issues, and represented the U.S. in agricultural negotiations and bilateral engagement with numerous regions and countries, including Africa, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Southeast Asia. He also concluded bilateral agreements with Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam, opening markets to hundreds of millions of dollars of additional U.S. meat and poultry exports.
Ron graduated summa cum laude from both the Boston University School of Law and The American University in Washington, D.C. He also spent a year as a Rotary Scholar at the Institute of Political Studies in Strasbourg, France, where he received a Certificat d'Etudes Politiques, Mention assez bien. Before attending law school, he served as a Trade Policy Officer for the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.