Top US trade agency lawyer exits for law firm Polsinelli

By David Thomas

April 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission's longtime top lawyer has left the agency as President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff moves continue to roil global trade.

The ITC's general counsel, Dominic Bianchi, said he stepped down at the end of last month to join law firm Polsinelli, where the firm said he is now a shareholder in Washington.

Bianchi worked at the ITC for 24 years, including a 13-year stint as general counsel. He said he had planned since last year to leave government service.

Bianchi departed the agency days before Trump smashed a more than 75-year-old global trading system with a new baseline 10% U.S. tariff on goods from all countries and higher tariff rates for countries that his administration said have high barriers to U.S. imports.

The ITC is an independent federal agency that investigates and determines whether domestic companies are being harmed by foreign dumping or subsidies, which can lead to import duties by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The agency also has the power to limit or ban imports into the United States in cases involving unfair trade practices, such as patent infringement. It provides trade analysis and advice to the president and Congress but does not make policy.

Margaret Macdonald, who has served at the ITC since 2013, replaced Bianchi as general counsel this month, the agency said. The general counsel serves as the ITC's chief legal officer and is not a political appointee.

Bianchi declined to give his assessment of Trump's trade policy but said he expects his new private practice to be busy.

"Any time you have policy changes being implemented, companies need to understand how to navigate those policy changes," Bianchi said.

Most of the tariffs Trump announced earlier this month were paused for 90 days. Trump has also imposed high tariffs on China, with exceptions for certain electronics. China has retaliated with its own tariffs against the U.S.

Trump has offered to make trade deals with as many nations as possible to limit the impact of the tariffs.

Other law firms have also bulked up their international trade teams since the election. Honigman; Morris, Manning & Martin; and WilmerHale have all hired lawyers with international trade experience in the past few months.

Polsinelli in 2023 hired former ITC chair Deanna Tanner Okun.