Steve Kho

Mr. Kho joined Akin Gump after nine years at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the Executive Office of the President. At USTR he was associate general counsel and acting chief counsel on China enforcement. As the principal attorney on all China matters, he was responsible for developing disputes and advocacy positions related to China’s obligations in the World Trade Organization (WTO). He was involved in formulating policy and legal strategy, consulting Congress and industry, and coordinating interagency efforts on these matters. His substantive experience covers the range of trade issues with China, including services and financial services, trade in goods, intellectual property rights, investment, electronic commerce, subsidies, trade remedies, government procurement and non-tariff trade barriers. He participated in the annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meetings, the administration of the Section 421 China-specific safeguard and the Strategic Economic Dialog. From 2002 to 2005 Mr. Kho was legal advisor at the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, where he managed the WTO dispute settlement portfolio for the U.S. government. He was responsible for reviewing all U.S. submissions, and was involved in formulating litigation strategies for all WTO cases involving the United States. He has participated in every stage of the WTO dispute settlement process, including negotiating settlements and procedural agreements with other WTO member states. In addition to Geneva, Mr. Kho lived in China for three years, teaching international trade law at various universities in Beijing, Suzhou, Changsha and Zhenjiang. He speaks Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. Mr. Kho received his B.A. with honors from the University of Virginia in 1991, his J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland in 1995 and his LL.M. with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1998. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars.