Adam Shaffer has recently joined ISRI in the role of assistant vice president of international trade and global affairs. Adam comes to ISRI’s Advocacy team focused on developing and implementing ISRI’s international trade policy and advocacy, as well as managing the organization’s international activities.
In this role, Adam will support ISRI’s expanding international portfolio in sustainability and environmental social governance (ESG), in addition to providing thought leadership on emerging international/global issues affecting the recycled materials industry. He serves as a subject matter expert on behalf of the recycled materials industry with the U.S. and international governments and organizations to pursue agreements, strategies, concepts, and other matters that promote ISRI policies. Adam serves as liaison to the ISRI Trade Committee and participates in a wide range of other ISRI committees.
Adam joins ISRI from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), where he most recently led trade policy advocacy efforts for U.S. steelmakers. While at AISI, he worked on every trade policy initiative impacting the domestic steel sector for the past 12 years, including the Section 232 national security remedy on steel imports, improvements to the U.S. trade remedy laws to address unfair trade practices and increased international cooperation to address the global steel excess capacity crisis. Adam’s advocacy efforts also focused on obtaining enhanced rules of origin for steel-containing goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and achieving new tools to address the evasion and circumvention of U.S. trade laws. By the end of his tenure at AISI, he found that even friends who rarely engaged in politics or policy were asking about the status of the steel tariffs. Prior to AISI, he worked at a boutique international trade law firm, where he managed legislative affairs and lobby visits for steel industry officials.
Adam grew up in Pittsburgh, which he finds to be an instant conversation starter in the steel and metals sector. He was an avid swimmer and roller coaster enthusiast during his childhood and always took advantage of opportunities to travel, particularly abroad. Adam relocated to Washington, D.C., for school nearly 20 years ago wanting to “do something international,” which led to his studies in international relations and studying abroad in Egypt.
Adam holds a Master of public policy, with a focus on international economic policy, from George Washington University and a B.A. in international studies from American University.
Welcome, Adam!
