Brazilian Trade Group Hires Ballard Partners Amid US Tariffs

Brazilian Trade Group Hires Ballard Partners Amid US TariffsAs tariffs and threats thereof have unsettled trade policy with American trade partners, companies and organizations around the world have sought to sway the current administration with the goal of obtaining more favorable agreements. Possessing a number of current and former consultants with experience in the Trump administration, Ballard Partners is a coveted public affairs firm.

The firm’s founder and president, Brian Ballard, chaired the Florida Finance Committee during Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. He went on to serve as the vice chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee and as a member of the Presidential Transition Finance Committee. Named one of the 500 most influential people in the nation’s capital by Washingtonian magazine in 2025, he currently sits on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Brian Ballard’s connections in government are enhanced by the presence of former Ballard Partners consultants at the highest levels of the current administration. President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, came to Ballard Partners after helping to guide the president to victory as cochair of his 2016 Florida campaign. An experienced Republican consultant who has worked for Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Jack Kemp, Rick Scott, and other politicians, she is often credited as the architect of President Trump’s 2024 victory.

Another former Ballard Partners consultant, Pam Bondi, represented clients such as Uber and Amazon during her tenure with the public affairs firm. Now the US attorney general, she has been instrumental in carrying out the president’s agenda. Bondi previously served as the attorney general of Florida, the first woman to hold this post.

An Effective Advocate

In August, as tariffs were instituted on Brazil, Ballard Partners was contracted by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI). Brazil’s largest trade group, the CNI represents state federations and trade unions from nearly 700 industries.

In hiring Ballard, CNI is looking to have an effective advocate in the halls of the US government. Brian Ballard, who leads his firm’s bipartisan government relations team, will head up the advocacy efforts for CNI along with Hunter Morgen, according to Politico.

A partner in Ballard Partners’ Washington, DC, office, Hunter Morgen has deep connections to the current administration, having served as a special assistant to the president and senior advisor for policy and strategy. Morgen will also bring his experience in trade policy, an area he focused on during his time in the White House. A distinguished fellow at the American Cornerstone Institute, he previously focused on policy matters as an advisor with the State Department in the Office of Policy and Planning.

Along with Brian Ballard and Morgen, the Washington, DC, office’s ability to deliver results for international clients is enhanced by other former members of the Trump administration. Firm partners William Russell and Thomas Boodry each served as special assistants to the president, with Russell holding the role in the first Trump administration and Boodry in the second. Russell was also tasked with briefing the president, while Boodry carried out responsibilities as the senior director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council.

Teaming up with Ballard Partners

The CNI was not the first international organization looking to Ballard Partners for relief from tariffs. In March, the firm forged an exclusive partnership with TACT. A leading Quebec-based public affairs firm, TACT has teamed up with Ballard Partners with the goal of increasing its ability to conduct cross-border advocacy for its clients, including in matters related to trade.

As part of the collaboration, TACT has become a valued member of the Ballard Global Alliance. Launched in 2024, the Ballard Global Alliance is a network of public affairs and government relations firms working together across key international markets. In a statement accompanying the announcement, TACT cofounder Daniel Matte said that the partnership “marks an important step for TACT in expanding the depth of insights we provide to our clients.”