Joseph Barloon, general counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and acting deputy USTR, was nominated by the White House to be a judge on the Court of International Trade. Before joining USTR, Barloon was a partner at Skadden Arps.

Ed Greenberg, a partner with GKG Law who also serves as general and transportation counsel to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, is retiring after more than 30 years, the NCBFAA said in an email to members. Greenberg “will finish 2020 with the Association, and transition into retirement at the start of 2021,” the trade group said. “NCBFAA will be continuing on with GKG for the immediate future and doing” a request for proposals “for both positions” in 2021.

Michael Ding is now a Department of Homeland Security acting deputy assistant secretary, replacing Christa Brzozowski, who recently left DHS. Ding's new role was mentioned during the Oct. 7 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting. Ding said his predecessor left him “big shoes to fill.” Brzozowski is now senior manager, public policy at Amazon as of October, according to her LinkedIn profile. Neither Amazon nor DHS immediately returned comment upon request.

Mayur Patel, chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee since Aug. 7, replaced Nasim Fussell, who returned to the private sector as a partner at Holland and Knight. Patel, who joined the committee staff in 2019, previously worked as a lawyer at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2011 to 2018, working on World Trade Organization disputes and on the chapter language for the NAFTA renegotiation and negotiations with Europe.

CT Strategies hired Shawn Beddows as vice president of global services, the consulting group said in a news release. Beddows previously worked at the International Air Transport Association on cargo security matters in the Cargo Border Management Office. He was also the acting director of the CBP Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program and is an “Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Technical and Operational Adviser recognized by the World Customs Organization,” CT Strategies said.

European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, who recently lauded the first tariff reduction between the U.S. and the EU in more than 20 years, resigned Aug. 26, British outlets reported. Hogan submitted his resignation after his attendance on Aug. 19 at an 80-person party in Ireland was revealed. COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland only permitted six people at indoor events, though the limit had changed just the day before, decreasing the allowed gathering size from 50.

The Information Technology Industry Council hired former State Department deputy assistant secretary-cyber and international communications and information policy, Rob Strayer, as executive vice president-policy, the ITI said in a news release. He will lead ITI’s global policy division, and oversee ITI’s global policy teams in Europe, India and Latin America.

Brian Hook, one of the State Department’s lead officials on Iran policy and sanctions, resigned from his role as special representative for Iran and senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the agency said Aug. 6. Hook’s position will be filled by Elliott Abrams, who will also continue his role as the State Department’s special representative for Venezuela.

Joanne Osendarp, a former senior counsel on trade for Canada, will become the co-head of McDermott Will's International Trade Group. Eric Parnes, who worked on Osendarp's team at Hughes Hubbard, is also being named a partner at McDermott Will. The other five members of Osendarp's team from her old law firm also were hired: Dean Pinkert, former commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission; Tim Hruby, Lynn Kamarck, Alan Kashdan and Conor Gilligan.

Laura Lane, UPS's president of global public affairs, has been promoted to chief corporate affairs and communications officer, the company announced July 28. She will now report directly to CEO Carol Tome, and will oversee public relations, employee communications and the UPS foundation, in addition to public policy and government affairs. Her work background includes serving as a trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the negotiation of China’s entry to the World Trade Organization.