Holly Smith

Holly Smith is a consultant in Hong Kong advising on trade and investment policy developments. She is a contributing writer to the Hinrich Foundation, responsible for the "What We’re Reading" bimonthly reading list and "How to Use It" guides. She also consults for Asia Society Hong Kong Center, developing their business and policy programs.

From 2009 to 2015, she served in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as a Director for Intellectual Property and Innovation, a Director for China Affairs, and a senior policy advisor to the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. At USTR, Ms. Smith led the formulation of U.S. trade policy towards China, Korea, India, Pakistan, and Thailand on issues related to intellectual property and innovation. She also assisted the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative in developing trade and investment policy towards Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including overseeing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. As a Director for China Affairs, she was responsible for coordinating the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade talks between the United States and China.

Earlier, Ms. Smith worked as a lawyer in Akin’s Beijing office focused on trade policy and corporate transactions, and for Allen & Overy’s Hong Kong office as a registered foreign lawyer in the firm’s capital markets practice. She began her career as an assistant in the National Security Council’s Asian Affairs office.

Ms. Smith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and the University of Michigan.