Mitchell (Moyshe) Allen Silk is an American lawyer,author,and former government official who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets under President Donald Trump. He is recognized as an expert in Chinese law and finance.[2][3][4] From October 2017 to July 2019,served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
Silk is the first Hasidic Jew to hold a senior position with a U.S. administration.[5][3]
Early life and education
Silk was born and grew up in Chicago. He was influenced by his grandparents who were immigrants to America from Eastern Europe,in particular,his maternal grandfather,a son and grandson of ritual scribes and followers of the first Rebbe of Nadvorna (today Nadvirna),Grand Rabbi Mordechai Leifer.[6][7]
While in high school,Silk started working at a Chinese restaurant where he learned Cantonese. He then learned Mandarin at Middlebury College which he followed with a year at the National Taiwan Normal University.[8] His fluency in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese had a profound impact on his career and life.[9]
Silk helped pioneer the field of China-related trade and investment law. Silk began his career as an associate at Hughes Hubbard &Reed (1987-1990),then at Graham &James (from 1990-1992). He worked as a senior associate at Chadbourne &Parke from 1992 to 1996. Silk later joined Allen &Overy,where he became partner and Head of the China Practice. He spent a decade in their Hong Kong office.[11][12][13][14][15]
Independent legal directories,including The Legal 500,the largest legal referral guide in the world published by Legalease Ltd and Euromoney’s AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers,recognized Silk as a leading lawyer in power,transportation,water,petrochemical,telecommunications and gas projects in China.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] He advised on many landmark project financings,including the 3,000MW Shandong Zhonghua Power Project[27],[28] the Chengdu BOT Water Project [29] the $4.6 billion Shell Nanhai Petrochemical Refinery Project,the $14 billion,4,100 km West-East Pipeline,the $2.7 billion BP Shanghai Petrochemical Refinery[30],the $2.5 billion Dongshen Water Supply Privatization Project,and the 600MW Jingyuan Phase II Power Project,the first Sino-US joint venture power project in China.[31]
In 2005,Silk relocated back to New York to establish Allen &Overy's US China Practice,where he continued to advise on energy and infrastructure projects in the U.S.,Latin America and the Caribbean,Asia and Africa,including the Southeast Northeast Interconnection Gas Pipeline GASENE a 1,387 km pipeline in Brazil,Jamaica’s Highway 2000 which connects the north and south of the island,and the 794MW Mt. Signal Solar Project in Imperial Valley,CA.
He also acted as fund counsel on the structuring and formation of several large international infrastructure and real assets funds,[32][33][34] and advised tens of foreign banks in their strategic expansion in the U.S. and their on-going operations,including cross-border financings and complex regulatory and corporate governance matters.
In January 2024,Silk was appointed Group General Counsel of the investment platform that houses Waterton Global Resources,the Cedarfield Group,and IJW Whiskey.
In July 2019,he became the acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets. On September 19,2019,President Trump formally nominated Silk to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets.[37] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Committee on Banking,Housing,and Urban Affairs was held on November 20,2019.[38] On April 21,2020,the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote.[39][40][41] Silk became the first Hasidic Jew to be confirmed to a senior U.S. administration position.[42][43][44][45]
Published work
Books
Silk's book A Seat at the Table:An Inside Account of Trump's Economic Revolution was published by Bombardier Books in September 2025. The book presents Silk's journey as the first Chassidic Jew to be confirmed by the Senate for a senior Federal Government role,by recounting his role in the negotiations that led to the U.S.-China Phase I Trade Agreement,design of infrastructure finance frameworks in Latin America and Asia,representing the U.S. on finreg and fintech matters globally and crafting of the CARES Act programming to support the airlines during COVID.[46]
He also published two books on Chinese environmental protection law titled:Environmental Law and Policy in the People's Republic of China[47] and China's marine environmental protection law:The dragon creeping in murky waters,[48]. In addition,Silk published Taiwan Trade and Investment Law.[49]
In 2021,Silk co-authored with Singaporean banker Seth Tan Dancing with Giants:A Lawyer and Banker Share Their Passion for Infrastructure Finance.[50] The book chronicles their experiences over the last several decades working on some of the largest cross-border infrastructure projects on almost every continent and at the highest levels of government and corporate organizations.
In addition to his books on finance,Silk published a three volume,2,000 page translation of the "supreme" classic Kedushas Levi,written by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev,published by ArtScroll in September 2023. This is the first complete English translation of this work,and includes insights into human life,behavior,and psychology.[51]
Articles
Silk has written numerous articles addressing topics such as Chinese business expansion,[52] Taiwan's investment law,[53] China's state secrets law,[54] post-Mao environmental protection,[55] and infrastructure policy in the U.S.[56]
When sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary,Silk used an ancient Tikkun kor'im originally owned by Rebbe Mordechai of Nadvorna,from his grandfather's ancestral hometown. [10][5]
↑Silk, Mitchell A. (1985). China's marine environmental protection law: The dragon creeping in murky waters (Occasional papers/reprints series in contemporary Asian studies): Mitchell A Silk: 9780942182736: Amazon.com: Books. School of Law, University of Maryland. ISBN0942182731.
↑Silk, Mitchell A. (1994). Taiwan Trade and Investment Law (Maryland Studies in East Asian Law and Politics Series; 12): Mitchell A. Silk: 9780195852899: Amazon.com: Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN0195852893.
↑Silk, Mitchell A.; Tan, Seth (December 6, 2021). Dancing with Giants: A Lawyer and Banker Share Their Passion for Infrastructure Finance. Li Xiang. ISBN978-1733133470.
↑Kedushas Levi: The Classic Work by the Chassidic Master Rabbi Levy Yitzchak of Berditchev. ArtScroll. February 14, 2024. ISBN978-1422638996.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
