Ted Posner is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he counsels clients on issues related to international trade and cross-border investment, including compliance with and enforcement of U.S. in-bound and out-bound investment programs, customs laws and regulations, export control laws and regulations, and economic sanctions. With over 30 years of experience in senior roles across the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and private practice, Ted helps clients navigate the regulatory frameworks governing the cross-border movement of goods, services, and capital.
Ted regularly guides clients through sensitive reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other high-stakes national security programs. He works closely with deal teams to assess jurisdictional and risk issues early, develop defensible strategies to mitigate risk, and position transactions for clearance. Ted also helps clients build compliance programs and adapt to emerging regulatory regimes, including the outbound investment security program and evolving tariff and trade requirements. His practice leverages insights gained from active involvement in milestone developments in the growing convergence of national security policy and economic policy.
Before joining the firm, Ted was a partner at Baker Botts, where he advised clients on cross-border transactions, regulatory risk management, and international disputes at the intersection of national security and economic law and policy.
Ted previously served as the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he led a team of nearly 30 attorneys on matters related to international economic law and policy. This included advising on CFIUS reviews of hundreds of transactions annually, the launch of the outbound investment security program, international trade, sovereign debt, and U.S. engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and regional development banks.
Earlier in his career, Ted headed the CFIUS practice at a global law firm, where he counseled clients on national security reviews and handled international arbitration and trade matters. He has also held roles with the National Security Council, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and the Office of Congressman Sander M. Levin. Ted began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ted is a frequent speaker on investment security and trade regulation and has written extensively on international economic law. He also is a member of the roster of persons eligible to serve on “Chapter 10 binational panels” under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (i.e., the mechanism under USMCA for reviewing certain administrative agency antidumping and other trade remedy determinations).
Ted Posner is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he counsels clients on issues related to international trade and cross-border investment, including compliance with and enforcement of U.S. in-bound and out-bound investment programs, customs laws and regulations, export control laws and regulations, and economic sanctions. With over 30 years of experience in senior roles across the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and private practice, Ted helps clients navigate the regulatory frameworks governing the cross-border movement of goods, services, and capital.
Ted regularly guides clients through sensitive reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other high-stakes national security programs. He works closely with deal teams to assess jurisdictional and risk issues early, develop defensible strategies to mitigate risk, and position transactions for clearance. Ted also helps clients build compliance programs and adapt to emerging regulatory regimes, including the outbound investment security program and evolving tariff and trade requirements. His practice leverages insights gained from active involvement in milestone developments in the growing convergence of national security policy and economic policy.
Before joining the firm, Ted was a partner at Baker Botts, where he advised clients on cross-border transactions, regulatory risk management, and international disputes at the intersection of national security and economic law and policy.
Ted previously served as the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he led a team of nearly 30 attorneys on matters related to international economic law and policy. This included advising on CFIUS reviews of hundreds of transactions annually, the launch of the outbound investment security program, international trade, sovereign debt, and U.S. engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and regional development banks.
Earlier in his career, Ted headed the CFIUS practice at a global law firm, where he counseled clients on national security reviews and handled international arbitration and trade matters. He has also held roles with the National Security Council, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and the Office of Congressman Sander M. Levin. Ted began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ted is a frequent speaker on investment security and trade regulation and has written extensively on international economic law. He also is a member of the roster of persons eligible to serve on “Chapter 10 binational panels” under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (i.e., the mechanism under USMCA for reviewing certain administrative agency antidumping and other trade remedy determinations).
- J.D., Yale Law School, 1994
Essays Editor, Yale Law Journal; Articles Editor, Yale Journal of International Law
- Certificate of International Studies, Institut Universitaire De Hautes Etudes Internationales, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991
- A.B., Public Policy, Princeton University, 1990
Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
- Bar of the District of Columbia
- State Bar of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- J.D., Yale Law School, 1994
Essays Editor, Yale Law Journal; Articles Editor, Yale Journal of International Law
- Certificate of International Studies, Institut Universitaire De Hautes Etudes Internationales, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991
- A.B., Public Policy, Princeton University, 1990
Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
- Bar of the District of Columbia
- State Bar of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Select Publications
- Co-author, “After Learning Resources: A Practical Guide for U.S. Importers,” Law360, February 27, 2026
- “5 Tariff and Trade Developments to Watch in 2026,” Law360, January 2, 2026
- “Rules of Origin Revamp May Be Next Big Trade Development,” Law360, October 23, 2025
- “You may be done with CFIUS, but CFIUS may not be done with you: Understanding CFIUS’ review of non-notified transactions,” Westlaw Today, September 16, 2025
- “6 Questions We Should Ask About The Trump Trade Deals,” Law360, August 4, 2025
- “Is USMCA’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism Up to the Task of Addressing Complaints Under its Labor Chapter?” The American Leadership Initiative, December 2019
- Co-author with N. Cunningham, “Twenty-Five Years of NAFTA Panel Review of Trade Remedy Determinations: Is Chapter 19 Still Relevant?” The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a special issue of Transnational Dispute Management, July 2019
- Co-author with R. Nagar, “Credit Agreement Provisions and Conflicts Between US Sanctions and Blocking Statutes,” Lending & Secured Finance 2019 (7thed.), April 2019
- Co-author with M.C. Walter, “The Abiding Role of State-State Engagement in the Resolution of Investor-State Disputes,” Reshaping the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System (J.E. Kalicki and A. Joubin-Bret, eds.), 2015
- Co-author with C. Roh, “‘Fast track’ is a slow route to a trade deal,” The Financial Times, February 17, 2014
- Co-author with D. Grimsey, M. Mori, and Y.S. Park, “Investing for Growth: Spurring Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth Through Foreign Direct Investment,” report prepared for the National Center for APEC and APEC Business Advisory Council, November 2011
- Co-author with D.J. Wolff, “Making ‘Regulatory Coherence’ Coherent,” Law360 International Trade, April 25, 2011
- “A Change in U.S. Trade Policy,” World Trade Magazine, August 2009
- Co-author with T. Reif, “Homage to a Bull Moose: Applying Lessons of History to Meet the Challenges of Globalization,” 24 Fordham International Law Journal 481, December 2000
- “Addressing Private and Public/Private Market Access Barriers,” 31 Law & Policy in International Business 1003, Spring 2000
- Co-author with J. Tompkins, “Sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya Under U.S. Law,” In-House Counsel International, November 1996
- Current French Security Policy: The Gaullist Legacy, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., December 1991
Select Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “National Security and International Law,” The London Conference on International Law, October 2, 2026
- Speaker, “The Tariff Tea 2.0: Navigating the Refund Process,” Webinar, May 6, 2026
- Panelist, “Strategic Counsel at Lightning Speed: Advising Clients on New Trade Agreements and Tools,” Georgetown University Law Center International Trade Update, March 13, 2026
- Speaker, “The Tariff Tea: Main Street’s Next Move – Navigating the Supreme Court Decision for Main Street,” Webinar, March 3, 2026
- Panelist, “Compliance and Enforcement Updates,” CFIUS Conference, hosted by the U.S. Department of Treasury, November 19, 2024
- Panelist, “Geopolitics and the Emerging Outbound Investment Regime,” American Branch of the International Law Association, October 21, 2023
- Panelist, “Investment Security,” Georgetown University Law Center International Trade Update, May 24, 2022
- Speaker, “Labor Provisions in U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” Washington International Trade Association, January 16, 2020
- Speaker, “Geopolitics and National Security in Global Economic Regulation,” G2 Conference on WTO and Global Economic Regulation, June 7, 2019
- Panelist, “Multilateral Reform of ISDS: The UNCITRAL Process and Proposed Reforms,” hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, March 27, 2019
- Moderator, “Views from the Hill” panel, Georgetown International Trade Update, March 8, 2019, and March 8, 2018
- Moderator, “What’s New with ISDS in the USMCA?” panel, Washington International Trade Association, November 1, 2018
- Panelist, “International Investment in the U.S.: Are We Still Open for Business?” D.C. Bar, June 14, 2018
- Speaker, Second Annual International Arbitration Association Conference, University of Pennsylvania Law School, April 6, 2018
- Speaker, “NAFTA: What Does the Future Hold?” 96th Annual Meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association, October 21, 2017
- Speaker, “Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Prevention and Management,” APEC Capacity Building Workshop, October 4, 2017
- Speaker, “Making Trade Dispute Settlement More Effective and Inclusive: Informal Reforms at the WTO and Alternative Hard and Soft Law Systems in and Outside of the WTO,” Annual Conference on WTO Law, June 9, 2017
- Panelist, 2nd Annual GAR Live BITs panel, April 18, 2016
- Panelist, “China and Antidumping: What’s on the Horizon?” Georgetown International Trade Update, February 2016
- Speaker, “ISDS in TTIP: A Discussion on an Appellate Body Mechanism for International Arbitration,” American University Washington College of Law, January 28, 2016
- Panelist, “Role of Non-Disputing States in Investment Dispute Settlement,” Investment Treaty Forum, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, May 8, 2014
- Panelist, “The Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanism: An Examination of Benefits and Costs,” Cato Institute, May 2014
- Panelist, “China and Beyond: Understanding State Owned Enterprises and State Immunity in International Arbitration,” HKIAC, November 2013
- Panelist, “Barriers to 21st Century Commerce,” OECD, March 2013
- Speaker, “Sanctions in International Investment Law,” ASIL 106th Annual Meeting, March 2012
- Speaker, “Competition and Trade Law Issues for SOEs and SWFs,” IBA Annual Conference, November 2011
- Speaker, “Managing Good Relations Through Development,” Mining Business Risks Summit, October 2011
- Speaker, “Investor-State Arbitration in the Americas: Update on CAFTA and NAFTA,” CBA/ABA Program, October 2011
- Speaker, “Investing for Growth: Prevention and Resolution of Investment Disputes,” APEC Investment Experts Group, March 2011
- Speaker, “The ‘Spaghetti Bowl’ Revisited: Navigating the Web of Overlapping Trade and Investment Treaty Obligations,” The Canadian Bar Association Conference, May 2010
- Speaker, “Appeals from investor-state awards: an examination of whether and how, Investment Law and Policy,” Speaker Series, Vale Columbia Center, April 2010
- Speaker, “Colombia-United States Trade Relations: Prospects for the Trade Promotion Agreement,” Bogota Chamber of Commerce, March 2010
- Speaker, “An Appellate Mechanism for Investor-State Dispute Settlement: A Perspective Based on the WTO Appellate Body Experience,” ABA Section of International Law Fall Meeting, October 2009
- Testimony, “Investment Protections in U.S. Trade and Investment Agreements,” The Trade Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways & Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, May 2009
Select Publications
- Co-author, “After Learning Resources: A Practical Guide for U.S. Importers,” Law360, February 27, 2026
- “5 Tariff and Trade Developments to Watch in 2026,” Law360, January 2, 2026
- “Rules of Origin Revamp May Be Next Big Trade Development,” Law360, October 23, 2025
- “You may be done with CFIUS, but CFIUS may not be done with you: Understanding CFIUS’ review of non-notified transactions,” Westlaw Today, September 16, 2025
- “6 Questions We Should Ask About The Trump Trade Deals,” Law360, August 4, 2025
- “Is USMCA’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism Up to the Task of Addressing Complaints Under its Labor Chapter?” The American Leadership Initiative, December 2019
- Co-author with N. Cunningham, “Twenty-Five Years of NAFTA Panel Review of Trade Remedy Determinations: Is Chapter 19 Still Relevant?” The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a special issue of Transnational Dispute Management, July 2019
- Co-author with R. Nagar, “Credit Agreement Provisions and Conflicts Between US Sanctions and Blocking Statutes,” Lending & Secured Finance 2019 (7thed.), April 2019
- Co-author with M.C. Walter, “The Abiding Role of State-State Engagement in the Resolution of Investor-State Disputes,” Reshaping the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System (J.E. Kalicki and A. Joubin-Bret, eds.), 2015
- Co-author with C. Roh, “‘Fast track’ is a slow route to a trade deal,” The Financial Times, February 17, 2014
- Co-author with D. Grimsey, M. Mori, and Y.S. Park, “Investing for Growth: Spurring Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth Through Foreign Direct Investment,” report prepared for the National Center for APEC and APEC Business Advisory Council, November 2011
- Co-author with D.J. Wolff, “Making ‘Regulatory Coherence’ Coherent,” Law360 International Trade, April 25, 2011
- “A Change in U.S. Trade Policy,” World Trade Magazine, August 2009
- Co-author with T. Reif, “Homage to a Bull Moose: Applying Lessons of History to Meet the Challenges of Globalization,” 24 Fordham International Law Journal 481, December 2000
- “Addressing Private and Public/Private Market Access Barriers,” 31 Law & Policy in International Business 1003, Spring 2000
- Co-author with J. Tompkins, “Sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya Under U.S. Law,” In-House Counsel International, November 1996
- Current French Security Policy: The Gaullist Legacy, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., December 1991
Select Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “National Security and International Law,” The London Conference on International Law, October 2, 2026
- Speaker, “The Tariff Tea 2.0: Navigating the Refund Process,” Webinar, May 6, 2026
- Panelist, “Strategic Counsel at Lightning Speed: Advising Clients on New Trade Agreements and Tools,” Georgetown University Law Center International Trade Update, March 13, 2026
- Speaker, “The Tariff Tea: Main Street’s Next Move – Navigating the Supreme Court Decision for Main Street,” Webinar, March 3, 2026
- Panelist, “Compliance and Enforcement Updates,” CFIUS Conference, hosted by the U.S. Department of Treasury, November 19, 2024
- Panelist, “Geopolitics and the Emerging Outbound Investment Regime,” American Branch of the International Law Association, October 21, 2023
- Panelist, “Investment Security,” Georgetown University Law Center International Trade Update, May 24, 2022
- Speaker, “Labor Provisions in U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” Washington International Trade Association, January 16, 2020
- Speaker, “Geopolitics and National Security in Global Economic Regulation,” G2 Conference on WTO and Global Economic Regulation, June 7, 2019
- Panelist, “Multilateral Reform of ISDS: The UNCITRAL Process and Proposed Reforms,” hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, March 27, 2019
- Moderator, “Views from the Hill” panel, Georgetown International Trade Update, March 8, 2019, and March 8, 2018
- Moderator, “What’s New with ISDS in the USMCA?” panel, Washington International Trade Association, November 1, 2018
- Panelist, “International Investment in the U.S.: Are We Still Open for Business?” D.C. Bar, June 14, 2018
- Speaker, Second Annual International Arbitration Association Conference, University of Pennsylvania Law School, April 6, 2018
- Speaker, “NAFTA: What Does the Future Hold?” 96th Annual Meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association, October 21, 2017
- Speaker, “Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Prevention and Management,” APEC Capacity Building Workshop, October 4, 2017
- Speaker, “Making Trade Dispute Settlement More Effective and Inclusive: Informal Reforms at the WTO and Alternative Hard and Soft Law Systems in and Outside of the WTO,” Annual Conference on WTO Law, June 9, 2017
- Panelist, 2nd Annual GAR Live BITs panel, April 18, 2016
- Panelist, “China and Antidumping: What’s on the Horizon?” Georgetown International Trade Update, February 2016
- Speaker, “ISDS in TTIP: A Discussion on an Appellate Body Mechanism for International Arbitration,” American University Washington College of Law, January 28, 2016
- Panelist, “Role of Non-Disputing States in Investment Dispute Settlement,” Investment Treaty Forum, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, May 8, 2014
- Panelist, “The Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanism: An Examination of Benefits and Costs,” Cato Institute, May 2014
- Panelist, “China and Beyond: Understanding State Owned Enterprises and State Immunity in International Arbitration,” HKIAC, November 2013
- Panelist, “Barriers to 21st Century Commerce,” OECD, March 2013
- Speaker, “Sanctions in International Investment Law,” ASIL 106th Annual Meeting, March 2012
- Speaker, “Competition and Trade Law Issues for SOEs and SWFs,” IBA Annual Conference, November 2011
- Speaker, “Managing Good Relations Through Development,” Mining Business Risks Summit, October 2011
- Speaker, “Investor-State Arbitration in the Americas: Update on CAFTA and NAFTA,” CBA/ABA Program, October 2011
- Speaker, “Investing for Growth: Prevention and Resolution of Investment Disputes,” APEC Investment Experts Group, March 2011
- Speaker, “The ‘Spaghetti Bowl’ Revisited: Navigating the Web of Overlapping Trade and Investment Treaty Obligations,” The Canadian Bar Association Conference, May 2010
- Speaker, “Appeals from investor-state awards: an examination of whether and how, Investment Law and Policy,” Speaker Series, Vale Columbia Center, April 2010
- Speaker, “Colombia-United States Trade Relations: Prospects for the Trade Promotion Agreement,” Bogota Chamber of Commerce, March 2010
- Speaker, “An Appellate Mechanism for Investor-State Dispute Settlement: A Perspective Based on the WTO Appellate Body Experience,” ABA Section of International Law Fall Meeting, October 2009
- Testimony, “Investment Protections in U.S. Trade and Investment Agreements,” The Trade Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways & Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, May 2009
Kimberly Brooks
212-453-2881
kbrooks@wsgr.com