USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service this week swore in six new officials to advocate for U.S. agricultural exports around the world. FAS will station the officers in Beijing as well as Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Guatemala City, Guatemala. FAS Undersecretary Alexis Taylor said the new officers will "bolster our Foreign Service as they begin their critical work of safeguarding and promoting U.S. agricultural interests, a task that is increasingly vital in today’s competitive and dynamic global agricultural trade environment.”

Jessica Lewis, who leads the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, will leave the government this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced July 9. Lewis worked on a range of defense trade issues during her three years with the State Department, including the Biden administration's revamped arms transfer policies (see 2302230049 and 2111040056) and its efforts to harmonize defense export controls with Australia and the U.K. as part of the AUKUS partnership (see 2305240061 and 2309270007). Blinken said Lewis is returning "to private life."

Charlotte Baskin-Gerwitz, a former Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions compliance officer, has joined J.P. Morgan as its vice president of global sanctions advisory, she announced July 1 on LinkedIn. Baskin-Gerwitz, who left OFAC in 2023, most recently worked as an associate in Morrison Foerster’s national security practice.

Danielle Fumagalli was named acting assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan, Korea, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Affairs, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release July 3. Fumagalli had been deputy assistant USTR in the same office, and had helped negotiate the U.S.-Japan Critical Minerals Agreement.

Neil MacBride, general counsel for the Treasury Department since February 2022, left the agency last week, he announced on LinkedIn. MacBride helped advise Treasury on issues relating to sanctions and terrorism finance, financial crimes enforcement and more, according to the department.

Michael McCarthy, former director of the U.S. Export Enforcement Coordination Center, was named special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore, he recently announced on LinkedIn. McCarthy led the Export Enforcement Coordination Center -- which helps coordinate information sharing among government agencies and the intelligence community -- before his most recent role as HSI deputy assistant director for operational technology.

Adam Safwat, a former deputy chief of DOJ's fraud section, has joined Foley Hoag as a partner in the white collar crime and government investigations practice, the firm announced. Safwat will be based in Washington, D.C., and will focus on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, sanctions, political corruption and financial fraud, the firm said. Safwat most recently was a partner at Nelson Mullins.

Matt Lapin, former partner at Porter Wright, has joined Wiley Rein as special counsel in the international trade and national security practice groups, the firm announced. Lapin's practice centers on "supply chain risk, export controls, economic sanctions, customs law, foreign investment, and anti-corruption," the firm said.

Rick Del Toro, a DOJ prosecutor focused on national security issues, is retiring from federal government, he announced on LinkedIn this week. He began working at DOJ in 1998 and helped lead the National Security Division’s investigations and prosecutions of export control and sanctions violations. He said he will return to “the practice of law” after a “lengthy sabbatical.”

David Lim, a former prosecutor with DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, has joined White & Case as partner, the firm announced May 29. Lim, who left DOJ earlier this month, was the co-director of DOJ’s Task Force KleptoCapture, where he supervised investigations and prosecutions of Russia-related sanctions and export control violations. The firm said he will advise clients on export control and sanctions enforcement risks and help handle government and internal investigations.