Kelley Drye is pleased to announce that Ronald K. Lorentzen, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement & Compliance at the U.S. Department of Commerce, has joined the firm's International Trade practice as a Senior International Trade Advisor in the Washington office.

Ron spent nearly eight years as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement & Compliance (E&C).  He led a staff of three hundred in E&C’s enforcement of U.S. trade laws and agreements. Those laws address unfair pricing practices by foreign companies and unfair subsidies bestowed on foreign companies by their governments. In addition, Ron was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of E&C, advising the Assistant Secretary on program and policy issues, and serving as a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade on a broad range of trade law and policy matters. Throughout his career, He also actively advocated for U.S. interests on these issues in a variety of international institutions and initiatives, including the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and serving at times as the chairman of the OECD Steel Committee and the North American Steel Trade Committee.

“Ron is one of the most respected trade officials in Washington,” said Kathy Cannon, Managing Partner of Kelley Drye’s Washington, D.C. office. “He has spent his career developing and enforcing U.S. trade laws to help ensure that U.S. industries and workers are competing on a level playing field in global markets.  We are thrilled to have him join us.”

Prior to January 2009, Ron served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations in Commerce’s Import Administration. In that capacity, he oversaw work on a broad range of policy issues and served as a lead U.S. negotiator on trade remedy rule issues in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Before assuming that position, Ron directed Import Administration’s Office of Policy.

Ron also served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, where he coordinated the United States’ overall participation in the work of the World Trade Organization, including the 1996, 1998, and 1999 WTO ministerial conferences. At USTR, he was chiefly responsible for U.S. policy concerning WTO rules governing trade remedies, the trade-related aspects of competition policy, and industrial policy measures. Ron also held several previous positions in the Commerce Department’s Import Administration, where he was a key member of the U.S. negotiating teams to the GATT Uruguay Round negotiations on subsidies and antidumping practices and worked extensively with Executive Branch and Congressional staff on the development of U.S. implementing legislation following the Uruguay Round’s completion.

“I have worked alongside or across the table from Kelley Drye and its impressive attorneys throughout my career,” said Ron. “I am delighted to join this world-class international trade team and to have the opportunity to help the firm’s clients continue to be competitive in the global market.”

Ron’s service in government has been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious Presidential Rank Award, the Department of Commerce’s Stephen C. Kaminski Memorial Award, the U.S. Trade Representative Office’s Kelly Award, and numerous Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and Bronze Medal awards within the Department of Commerce.