NAFTA came into force on 1 January 1994, superseding the 1988 Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. The 1988 Agreement was the first step towards a North American trade bloc, and with the advent of NAFTA, Mexico joined the bloc, creating one of the largest such trade blocs in the world. Some have called the USMCA ‘NAFTA 2.0,’ and others have indicated that the best parts of USMCA are the 90% that remains of NAFTA. Are these suppositions correct? If so, what were the political and commercial factors that led to the new pact? The opening panel will discuss these issues and focus on general aspects of the treaties and the transition towards the USMCA, including issues involving negotiation and policy, to set the stage for understanding new agreement.
Steven M Richman Clark Hill, Princeton, NJ; BIC Officer
Steven M. Richman holds a law degree from New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1980, Order of the Coif, and a B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Drew University. He is a member of Clark Hill PLC, based in Princeton and New York, with a national and international litigation and arbitration practice including representation of foreign and domestic companies in dispute resolution and contract matters. He is the author of the ABA book, Photography Law Handbook, and has written and spoken extensively in the areas of international law, corporate social responsibility, contracts, litigation and arbitration, and professional responsibility. He is a past chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law, in which he focused on private sector involvement in human rights, and is a board member of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative. He is also ABA Liaison to the United Nations and co-chairs that group’s subcommittee on corporate social responsibility. Within the International Bar Association, he is an officer of Bar Issues Commission and its Policy Committee, through which he participated in the consideration of the IBA Practical Guide on Business and Human Rights for Business Lawyers. He also serves on the International Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and on the editorial board of Juriste, the flagship publication of the UIA (International Association of Lawyers).
His publications in the area of corporate social responsibility include Steven M. Richman, Esq., Ethical Issues for Business Lawyers Under the United Nations Guiding Principles, 51 Int'l Law. 423 (2018). He is a member of the New York City Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and former member of the ABA Advisory Council on Human Rights. He has also been an ABA advisor on Uniform Law Commission study and drafting committees involving international issues, including as an observer to the Uniform Law Commission study committee on choice of law.
Turenna Ramirez Ortiz
Turenna joined Sánchez Devanny to head the firm’s International Trade and Customs group She has more than seventeen years of experience advising multinational companies on cross border transactions related to international trade and customs from strategic planning, preventive and reactive audits by the Mexican IRS, to defense and litigation before the government and the Federal Courts Turenna has a diverse client base, including automotive, retail, chemical, petrochemical, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, software, cosmetics, electronics, maquiladoras ( and trading companies Turenna advises on foreign trade, multilateral treaties and antidumping laws Her experience includes design and implementation of business strategies, NAFTA origin verifications and tariff classification, rules of origin, export controls, import/export regimes, bonded facilities structure and management, and wide knowledge of tariff and non tariff regulatory issues She has participated in complex, high visibility matters, and in international trade negotiations with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization in a program against forgery and piracy Turenna is fluent in English and Spanish
Carolyn B. Lamm
Carolyn Lamm regularly serves as lead counsel in high-stakes, cutting-edge cases, successfully resolving significant international arbitrations involving international corporates and sovereign clients. She also serves as lead counsel in arbitration-related litigation matters.
Her practice concentrates on international dispute resolution through international arbitration, litigation and international trade proceedings. She advises clients in matters with ICSID and its Additional Facility, and other international arbitral proceedings involving States, as well as commercial arbitral fora including AAA/CDR, ICC, Vienna Centre, Stockholm Chamber, Swiss Chamber and in federal court litigation. She teaches International Investment Arbitration at the University Of Miami School Of Law in the White & Case LLM program in International Arbitration.
Carolyn was appointed by President Clinton to the US Panel and later by the Government of Uzbekistan to the Uzbek Panel of Arbitrators for ICSID arbitration. She was a member of the American Arbitration Association Executive Committee and Board, and is currently a member of the ICCA Governing Board, a member of the Council of the American Law Institute (Advisory Committee for the Restatement of International Arbitration and a Counselor for the Restatement Fourth on Foreign Relations) and has served as an arbitrator in AAA International Rules, ICSID and NAFTA Chapter 11 disputes. Carolyn is a founding member of the American Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as Chairman of the Board.
Carolyn is a past President of both the District of Columbia Bar and the American Bar Association. She is currently serving as the American Bar Association's Representative to the International Bar Association.
Prior to joining White & Case, she was employed by the US Department of Justice under the Attorney General's Program for Honor Law Graduates and served as a trial attorney in the Fraud Section, Civil Division, before obtaining the position of Assistant Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division.
Stephen Zolf
Stephen is a member of the firm’s Corporate/Commercial, Telecommunications, Sports & Media and Technology Groups. Stephen has expertise in regulatory, public law, competition law and copyright law. Trained as a regulatory economist and as a lawyer, Stephen’s expertise extends to advising clients on merger clearance under the Competition Act, foreign investment under the Investment Canada Act and various regulatory/public law matters in the copyright arena, including collective licensing for public performances on various digital platforms and the copyright retransmission regime in Canada and in international jurisdictions.
Stephen has acted as regulatory counsel in multiple regulatory proceedings in the Canadian telecommunications sector, including on wholesale rate matters and the overall regulatory framework for competition in the telecommunications industry. Stephen’s regulatory expertise extends to the broadcast/media sector, where he regularly advises cable programming services and broadcast distributors.
Stephen has been recognized as an industry expert in telecommunications and media law. His deep understanding of the legal and regulatory framework in the Canadian communications sector enables him to guide clients in implementing new business models in the Internet environment of rapidly evolving digital distribution networks and platforms.
Stephen has strong communication skills and a personable approach, and publishes and speaks frequently on regulatory law and policy. He has been consistently recognized as a leading practitioner of communications and media law by Chambers and Partners, Lexpert, Best Lawyers and Legal Media Group. Stephen was recently listed in the Lexpert Special Edition: Technology 2020, a guide highlighting the leading Canadian lawyers involved in the technology sector, published on May 13, 2020.