Arent Fox tapped Canadian international trade lawyer Riyaz Dattu for its New York office, expanding the firm's International Trade and Investment practice, the group announced. Dattu will advise “multinationals with Canadian presence” and Canadian companies on their operations in the U.S. and globally.

The American Iron and Steel Institute's board on May 25 elected Nucor Corp. CEO Leon Topalian to serve as chairman of AISI for a two-year term.

David Peyman, former deputy assistant secretary of state for counter threat finance and sanctions in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, joined DLA Piper's Washington office as of counsel in the International Trade practice, the firm announced May 20. At the State Department, Peyman managed 25 sanctions programs and built the first economic sanctions targeting team. He also led the Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures, which roots out terrorist financing.

The Semiconductor Industry Association hired Meghan Biery, previously the senior national security policy adviser at the Bureau of Industry and Security, as director of global technology and security policy, the SIA said in a May 24 news release. “A seasoned policy practitioner with high-level experience in technology security, export control, and related issues, Meghan Biery will be a strong and capable advocate for our industry’s interests in Washington and around the world," SIA CEO John Neuffer said.

CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez will retire (see 2105180051) at the end of June, said John Leonard, acting executive assistant commissioner for trade, while speaking during a Foreign Trade Association World Trade Week event May 20. Executive Assistant Commissioner for Enterprise Services Carry Huffman will be the acting deputy commissioner after Perez retires, Leonard said.

Vedder Price hired Brent Connor, previously in the Transportation and International Trade groups at Thompson Hine, as a shareholder to its International Trade and Compliance practice group in the firm's Washington office, according to a May 20 press release.

Semiconductor company ASML hired Maryam Cope, previously government affairs director at the Semiconductor Industry Association, as its head of U.S. government affairs, she said in a LinkedIn post.

CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez plans to retire from the agency after the Department of Homeland Security said it wouldn't be keeping Perez in that role, according to a report in The Washington Examiner. Current Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller is expected to take the Deputy Commissioner position, it said. CBP didn't comment.

Alvarez & Marsal Taxand hired Michael McGee to lead the consultancy's new Global Trade and Customs practice, it said in a May 12 news release. McGee was previously the global director of International Trade Regulations at BP America. “The political landscape and the pandemic have led to more regulations, increasingly complex tax regimes and the need to redraw supply chains. As a result, there is greater demand for expert tax advisory services, including for global trade and tariffs and duties,” said Ernesto Perez, managing director of the Houston firm. “In line with A&M’s leadership, action, results approach, A&M Taxand is responding to the shifting business environment by expanding and strengthening specialized tax services to maximize value for clients.” A&M said McGee has “expert knowledge of U.S. Customs Law, Department of Commerce Export Administration Regulations, Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control, and Department of Commerce Antiboycott Regulations.”

Thea Lee, a former AFL-CIO trade economist and top official for 20 years, will be leading the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs, which is involved in both enforcement of the USMCA labor chapter and in investigating forced labor and the worst forms of child labor. The AFL-CIO reacted to the news of her appointment by saying “there is no better person to help strengthen enforcement of labor standards that increase the power of workers in the U.S. and around the world. She will also help shape policies to end forced labor and egregious worker rights violations throughout global supply chains.” The job is not one that requires Senate confirmation.