Jeff Weiss spent more than 15 years in senior legal, policy, diplomatic, negotiation, and political roles in the US government across three administrations – including at the White House, Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), and the Office of the Secretary of Commerce – and now co-chairs Steptoe’s internationally recognized International Trade Policy practice and leads the firm's Supply Chain team. He is also a core a member of the firm's ESG practice.
As lead of the Steptoe Supply Chain team, Jeff works with companies, trade associations, and coalitions to craft and implement advocacy plans to strengthen, build, or rebuild US supply chains; facilitate the movement of cargo; and improve US digital supply chain infrastructure. He also counsels companies on compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act; supply chain due diligence; and shifting supply chains to, e.g., minimize liability for customs duties and carbon border measures and position themselves for domestic content preferences.
From 2015-2017, Jeff served as deputy director for policy and strategic planning at Commerce, where, as the second-ranking official in the policy office, he served as a senior advisor to the Commerce Secretary on a wide range of economic policy issues, including port and supply chain issues. Jeff also previously served as associate administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Earlier in his government career, Jeff served at the USTR as senior director for Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), assistant general counsel, and assistant legal advisor at the Mission of the United States to the WTO in Geneva. While at USTR, Jeff served as the lead US negotiator and policymaker on technical barriers to trade at the WTO TBT Committee, non-agricultural market access negotiations, and in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. Jeff also represented the United States in WTO disputes and the DSU negotiations during the Doha Round, served as the lead US lawyer on the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement, and was chief lawyer for NAFTA from 2004 to 2007.
