Trade Deals: 2026 Outlook on Navigating Tariffs and U.S. Policy Changes

Time

Event Details

12:45 – 1:00 PM

Welcome Remarks

Elizabeth Trujillo
Mary Ann & Lawrence E. Faust Professor of Law
Founding Director, Global Law and Policy for the Americas Initiative
University of Houston Law Center

Devin Sikes
Partner
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

1:00 – 1:50 PM

Keynote Address (.75 Texas MCLE)

Kevin Brady
Former U.S. Representative
Senior Consultant
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

1:50 – 2:50 PM

Tariffs and U.S. Policy Changes (1.0 Texas MCLE)

Moderator: Elizabeth Trujillo
Mary Ann & Lawrence E. Faust Professor of Law
Founding Director, Global Law and Policy for the Americas Initiative
University of Houston Law Center

Panelists:

Chris Mirasola, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center

Pablo Pinto, Distinguished Professor; Director, Center for Public Policy, University of Houston, Hobby School of Public Affairs

Kelly Ann Shaw, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Devin Sikes, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

2:50 – 3:05 PM

Coffee Break

3:05 – 4:05 PM

Trade Deals and Implications for Energy Business (1.0 Texas MCLE)

Moderator: Tracy Hester
Instructional Professor of Law; Co-Director, Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center, University of Houston Law Center; Founding Co-Director, University of Houston Center for Carbon Management in Energy

Panelists:

Julian Cardenas Garcia, Research Assistant Professor; Director, Center for U.S. and Mexican Law, University of Houston Law Center

J. Hayden Harms, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Jorge H. Kamine, Partner, Corporate & Financial Services, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Calvin F. McKnight Jr., Senior Legal Counsel, Vitol

4:05 – 5:05 PM

Business Tool-Kit for Navigating Tariffs (1.0 Texas MCLE)

Moderator: Devin Sikes
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Panelists:

Sarah Dadush, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School - Newark
Founding Director, the Responsible Contracting Project

Nick Diamond, Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Alexis G. Guinan, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Jessica B. Horwitz, Partner, Bennett Jones LLP

5:05 – 6:05 PM

Future Outlook for North American Trade (1.0 Texas MCLE)

Moderator: Devin Sikes
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Panelists:

Sarah B. W. Kirwin, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Matthew Kronby, Partner, Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Ricardo Ramírez Hernández, Founding Partner, RRH Consultores, S.C.

Elizabeth Trujillo, Mary Ann & Lawrence E. Faust Professor of Law
Founding Director, Global Law and Policy for the Americas Initiative
University of Houston Law Center

Sunny Wong, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies; Professor, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston

6:05 – 6:15 PM

Closing Remarks

Leonard M. Baynes
Dean, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Chair, Professor of Law
University of Houston Law Center

6:15 – 7:30 PM

Reception hosted by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

University of Houston Law Center