Ambassador Robert Holleyman

President and CEO

rholleyman@crowell.com

Robert Holleyman is the president and CEO of Crowell & Moring International and a partner in Crowell & Moring LLP’s International Trade, and Privacy and Security groups. He advises clients on a range of trade and investment issues, including market access, global trade negotiations, tariffs, cross-border data flows, and privacy/cybersecurity, among other matters.

Ambassador Holleyman has significant trade, international business, economic policy, and legal experience from his service as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, as CEO of a highly successful information technology advocacy association, and work as counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as Deputy United States Trade Representative from 2014-2017, with the rank of Ambassador.

While in government, Ambassador Holleyman was responsible for U.S. trade and investment relations with Asia and with regional institutions, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. He led USTR’s negotiations with China, including the work of the annual Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and with India through the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF). In addition, Ambassador Holleyman was responsible for global trade policy in the areas of services, investment, intellectual property (IP), and innovation.

Ambassador Holleyman led the creation of a new Digital Trade Working Group within USTR to focus on trade policy and the digital economy and to advance U.S. negotiating priorities around digital trade. He developed and advanced USTR’s “Digital2Dozen,” a series of groundbreaking measures secured in the Asia-Pacific region that established rules promoting a free and open internet; expanded e-commerce; led to the free flow of cross-border data transfers; and enhanced cybersecurity, consumer privacy, competition in telecommunications networks, and disciplines to eliminate and prohibit barriers to new digital products and services.

Ambassador Holleyman served as a board member of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s global development financing institution. He represented USTR on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), reviewing foreign acquisitions of U.S. commercial entities for their impact on national security.

While in the private sector, Ambassador Holleyman was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). He previously served as a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services for the U.S. Department of Commerce and USTR. In earlier public service, Ambassador Holleyman was Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Legislative Director and Assistant to U.S. Senator Russell B. Long (D-LA); and Judicial Clerk to U.S. District Judge Jack M. Gordon of the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.

Ambassador Holleyman was President and CEO of BSA/The Software Alliance from 1990–2013, where he transformed an early stage enterprise into a global association representing the world’s software powerhouses across 65 countries with 16 foreign offices. At BSA, he positioned companies to address emerging standards, competition, IP, and innovation issues. Ambassador Holleyman has testified frequently before Congress and international bodies, and appeared in major media outlets in the U.S. and internationally on the topics of innovation, IP, emerging markets, export controls, encryption, cybersecurity, digital transformation, and cloud computing. He was named by Managing IP magazine as one of the “50 Most Influential People” in the intellectual property world, by the The Washington Post as a key private sector player in cybersecurity policy, and by Computer Reseller News as one of “20 To Watch” in the software industry. Previously, Ambassador Holleyman worked in commercial litigation with a law firm in Houston, Texas.

Ambassador Holleyman received his Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he was named its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus. He has studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, NM,an Honorary Trustee of the National Building Museum and has previously served as a board member of the Stephen Decatur House Museum and Food & Friends in Washington, DC.   He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the EastWest Institute and member of the Advisory Council at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Government Experience

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative—Ambassador, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (2014-2017); Member, U.S. Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (2010-2014)

United States Senate—Senior Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (1987-1990); Legislative Director and Assistant, U.S. Senator Russell B. Long (1982-1987)

Education

Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, B.A. (1976), 2012 Distinguished Alumnus

Louisiana State University Law School, J.D. (1979)

Stanford Graduate School of Business, Certificate (1998)

 

Publications

• “Trump’s TikTok, WeChat Orders May Yield Different Results,” Law360 (August 6, 2020). Authors: Caroline E. Brown, and Robert Holleyman.
• “Recent US Actions Muddy USMCA Media Protections,” Law360 (July 21, 2020). Authors: Robert Holleyman, Christopher A. Cole, Michelle Ann Gitlitz, and Tre Flowers.
• “S’pore Leads New Approach To Digital Trade,” The Straits Times (June 27, 2020). Authors: Robert Holleyman, and Clark Jennings.
• “Global Economic Recovery Calls For Trade Policy Overhaul,” Law360 (May 19, 2020). Authors: Robert Holleyman, and Himamauli Das.
• “International Trade – Caught in the Crossfire,” Crowell & Moring’s Regulatory Forecast 2020 (February 26, 2020). Contributors: Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Evan Y. Chuck, and Michelle J. Linderman.
• “U.S. and China Sign “Phase One” Trade Deal,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (January 15, 2020). Authors: Robert Holleyman, Evan Y. Chuck and Joshua Boswell.
• “WTO Grants China Clearance for $3.5 Billion in Retaliation to U.S. Anti-Dumping Duties,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (November 4, 2019). Authors: Robert Holleyman and Walter (Sam) Boone.
• “Without Public Policy Changes, The U.S. Risks Losing The Global Race To Innovate In Healthcare,” Fierce Healthcare (October 4, 2019). Authors: Jodi G. Daniel, and Robert Holleyman.
• “Trade Winds: How Global Businesses Are Navigating Trade, Tariffs, and the Uncharted Waters Ahead,” Crowell & Moring’s Regulatory Forecast 2019 (February 27, 2019). Contributors: Ambassador Robert Holleyman, David R. Stepp, Cheryl A. Falvey, Frederik Van Remoortel, Teresa Stanek Rea, Carlton Greene, and John B. Brew.
• “European Commission Announces New Framework for Foreign Direct Investment Screening,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (November 21, 2018). Authors: Robert Holleyman, Adelicia R. Cliffe and Evan Yu.
• “U.S. and Japan Agree to Launch Bilateral Negotiations on a “Trade Agreement on Goods”” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (September 28, 2018). Authors: Melissa Morris, Robert Holleyman, Andrew Blasi and Evan Yu.
• “Canada and U.S. Fail to Reach New NAFTA Agreement; Congress Notified of U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (September 1, 2018). Authors: Robert Holleyman, Daniel Cannistra, Melissa Morris and Evan Yu.
• “U.S. and Mexico Announce “Preliminary Agreement in Principle” on NAFTA Renegotiation – Canada Joins Talks,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (August 29, 2018). Authors: Robert Holleyman, Daniel Cannistra, Melissa Morris and Evan Yu.
• “USTR Publishes ‘China 301 Product Exclusion Form’; Docket Open for Submissions,” Crowell & Moring International Trade Law (July 11, 2018). Authors: John B. Brew, Robert Holleyman, Spencer Toubia, Yun Gao, Cherie Walterman and Edward Goetz.
• “China Imposes Retaliatory Tariffs on 128 U.S. Exports,” Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Law (April 3, 2018). Authors: Robert Holleyman and Cherie Walterman.
• “State of Play: Digital Transformation – The Sky’s the Limit,” Crowell & Moring’s Regulatory Forecast 2018 (February 2018). Contributors: Cheryl Falvey, Scott Winkelman, Kate Growley, Jeffrey Selman, Jodi Daniel, Evan Wolff, and Robert Holleyman.
• “Trade – NAFTA: Renegotiate—Or Scrap?” Crowell & Moring’s Regulatory Forecast 2018 (February 2018). Contributor: Robert Holleyman.
• “America Simply Cannot Afford To Sit On The Economic Sidelines Of Asia,” The Hill (November 9, 2017). Author: Robert Holleyman.

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Client Alerts & Newsletters

• “CFIUS Review Culminates in Order Directing ByteDance, Ltd. to Divest TikTok,” (August 18, 2020). Contacts: Caroline E. Brown, Robert Holleyman.
• “New Executive Orders Start Clock Ticking for TikTok and WeChat,” International Trade Bulletin (August 11, 2020). Contacts: Caroline E. Brown, Robert Holleyman.
• “Privacy Shield Invalidated: EU Data Transfers to the U.S. under Siege (again…),” (July 16, 2020). Contacts: Jeffrey L. Poston, Maarten Stassen, Jeane A. Thomas, CIPP/E, Frederik Van Remoortel, Jarno Vanto, Laurence Winston… (show all 8)
• “Expansion of Section 230 of U.S. Communications Decency Act with July 1 implementation of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,” (July 1, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Christopher A. Cole, Michelle Ann Gitlitz.
• “Navigating Medical Supply Chain Challenges in the Aftermath of COVID-19,” Health Care Alert (June 16, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, James G. Flood, Patricia L. Wu, Himamauli Das, Shelley Su, Joshua Boswell.
• “Calls for Treaty on Marine Litter Continue During World Oceans Week,” Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert (June 12, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Clark Jennings, Ryan MacFarlane, Olivia Burzynska-Hernandez.
• “USTR Launches 301 Investigations into Digital Services Taxes,” International Trade Bulletin (June 3, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, John B. Brew, Clark Jennings, Olivia Burzynska-Hernandez.
• “U.S. State Department Fails to Certify Hong Kong’s Autonomy: Signals Potential Change in Trade and Economic Treatment,” International Trade Bulletin (May 28, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Evan Y. Chuck, Clark Jennings, Shelley Su.
• “President Declares Threat to Electric Power Grid a National Emergency,” Government Contracts Bullet Points (May 4, 2020). Contacts: Alan W. H. Gourley, Larry F. Eisenstat, Caroline E. Brown, Robert Holleyman, Deborah A. Carpentier, Byron R. Brown.
• “Policymakers Pivot to New Phase in the Global Economic Response to COVID-19,” (April 28, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Himamauli Das, James G. Flood, Patricia L. Wu, Clark Jennings, Joshua Boswell… (show all 7)
• “International Economic Responses to COVID-19,” (April 6, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Himamauli Das, James G. Flood, Patricia L. Wu, Clark Jennings, Joshua Boswell… (show all 7)
• “Summary of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Stimulus Legislation,” Tax Alert (March 27, 2020). Contacts: James G. Flood, Robert Holleyman, Tim Shadyac, Jerrica Mathis, S. Starling Marshall, Laurel Pyke Malson… (show all 18)
• “Coronavirus: APEC Health Cooperation Imperative as Economic Integration and Interdependence Grows in the Presence of Health Threats,” (February 7, 2020). Contacts: Robert Holleyman, Michael E. Schmitz, Patricia L. Wu, Eric Obscherning, Ryan MacFarlane, Joshua Boswell.