Trump eyes Washington trade lawyer for key China post at Commerce Dept

(Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump is considering Washington trade lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to lead the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), according to people familiar with the matter, a key post in the U.S.-China tech war.

Kessler, a partner at the law firm of WilmerHale, served as assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance during Trump’s first term, which made him the Commerce department’s top trade enforcement official.

If selected to head BIS, Kessler would oversee export controls on U.S. technology exported to countries like China that pose a risk to national security. Over the past decade, export controls became a potent weapon for the U.S. in the tech battle between the world’s two biggest economies.

Spokespeople for the Trump transition team and Kessler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alan Estevez has been BIS undersecretary in the Biden administration. A former Pentagon official, Estevez has overseen sweeping restrictions on semiconductors and the equipment to make them, and restrictions on China’s telecommunications equipment firm Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL).

On Monday, the department issued a framework to control the flow of U.S. AI chips around the world, and later this week is set to publish a rule prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on American roads.

At WilmerHale, Kessler’s practice has emphasized China, his law firm bio says, noting he has helped U.S. companies and trade associations “especially in innovative IP-intensive industries” navigate Chinese trade and investment barriers.

He also has advised clients on sanctions export controls, the challenges of doing business in the U.S. and China, and compliance with forced labor legislation related to the Uyghurs.

As assistant secretary during the first Trump administration, Kessler oversaw an overhaul of trade enforcement regulations, according to the bio. He also was responsible for enforcing U.S. trade remedy laws, namely anti-dumping and countervailing duty law investigations.

In addition, he monitored foreign compliance with trade agreements, and supported negotiations for a June 2021 tariff ceasefire between the USTR, the EU and Britain, the bio says.

A graduate of Yale University with a degree in philosophy, Kessler got both his law degree and a master’s in economics from Stanford University. He also holds a master’s in philosophy from the University of Chicago.