Ira Shapiro focuses his practice on advising clients of the impact of international trade rules that have been negotiated multilaterally, regionally and bilaterally, and breaking down barriers to exports in foreign markets around the world. During the Clinton Administration, he served as the General Counsel to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and played a key role in completing the negotiations on the Uruguay Round which established the WTO global trade rules, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). As the chief U.S. trade negotiator with Japan and Canada, Ambassador Shapiro negotiated solutions to several of the most contentious bilateral trade disputes, helping to open the Japanese market to U.S. autos and auto parts, semiconductors and insurance. Ira spent twelve years in senior staff positions in the U.S. Senate, including Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Governmental Affairs Committee and Chief of Staff to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. He has also served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank. As a candidate for Congress in 2002, Ira's campaign was described in the local press as "the antidote to cynicism that he promised."
Areas of Concentration
· International trade law and policy
· Governmental affairs
Significant Representations
· Supervised the preparation and presentation of WTO cases in Geneva and appeared personally.
· Helped negotiate and draft the NAFTA labor and environmental side agreements.
· Advised the sugar reform coalition, an umbrella group of consumers, environmentalists, and companies trying to make fundamental changes in the U.S. sugar program.
· Represented leading U.S. pharmaceutical company in successful effort to get anti-cancer drug into the Japanese market.
· Represented the apparel industry of Haiti in legislative effort to get a trade preference.
· Represented major U.S. auto manufacturer in successful effort to reduce Eastern European tariffs on automobiles.
Professional & Community Involvement
· Board member, Brandeis University Graduate School on International Economics and Finance
· Board Member, Association for Safe International Road Travel
· Member, Global Issues Advisory Committee, Council on Competitiveness; Co-Chair of the China Task Force
· Democratic candidate for Congress in Maryland, 2002
Awards & Recognition
· Listed, Chambers Global, a directory of the most highly recommended lawyers world-wide, Chambers and Partners, 2008 and 2009 editions
· Listed, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2007-2008 edition
· Received special recognition from U.S. auto parts and semiconductor industries for work on bilateral trade negotiations, 1996
· Nominated by President Clinton and unanimously confirmed by the Senate for rank of Ambassador, 1995
· Visiting Scholar, invited by the Policy Study Group, Tokyo, Japan, 1991
· Appointed Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Special Committee on Official Conduct created to write the Senate ethics code, 1977
· Recipient of the Edwin Keedy Prize for Most Outstanding Contribution to the Pennsylvania Law Review
· Recipient of National Science Foundation Special Career Fellowship to study political science in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley
· Recipient of Saul and Sarah Fechtor Award as Outstanding Student of Politics, Brandeis University (co-recipient)
· Rated, AV® Preeminent 5.0 out of 5
Other Experience
· Office of the United States Trade Representative, 1993-1997
· General Counsel, 1993-1995
· Chief Negotiator for Japan and Canada, 1995-1997
· Nominated by President and confirmed by Senate to be Ambassador, 1995
· Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, 1981-1985
· Chief of Staff to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, 1985-1987
· Principal Staff Author of Senate Code of Ethics
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Articles
· Articles on international trade, public policy and politics have appeared in diverse publications including the Washington Post Outlook Section, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SAIS Review, Intellect Magazine, Harvard Journal on Legislation and Brandeis Review
Miscellaneous
· Wrote in-depth study for the Inter-American Development Bank on advancing labor standards in the Americas, without recourse to trade sanctions
· Testified numerous times before House and Senate Committees, while in government and in private practice
· Spoken many times around the country, in Europe and Australia on WTO, NAFTA and Japan trade issues