Trade Compliance Speaker Shawn Harwood

Shawn Harwood​

Shawn retired from government service in July 2023 after a 25-year career in federal law enforcement. His final post was a six-year deployment as the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Country Attaché in Mainland China, where he focused on developing productive relationships with the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of China Customs. The professional highlights of his time in China include groundbreaking successes in fentanyl and counterfeit pharmaceutical trafficking cases, as well as managing the China-based implementation of the 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. In addition to maintaining a full investigative case load, Mr. Harwood served as the primary HSI liaison to State Department leadership and managed the HSI offices at both U.S. Embassy Beijing and U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou.

Prior to his deployment in Guangzhou, Mr. Harwood was assigned to the Office of International Operations at HSI Headquarters, supporting Attaché offices in Europe and drafting agency policies on international engagement and asset forfeiture. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Harwood was assigned to the HSI Attaché office in London, England, where he liaised with British law enforcement and intelligence partners and directed the arms trafficking investigative portfolio. Prior to his London tour, Mr. Harwood worked in the HSI office in Atlanta, Georgia, conducting a diverse range of cases, managing the HSI Atlanta-certified undercover operation, and serving as a tactical medic.

Mr. Harwood began his law enforcement career in 1998, as a Border Patrol Agent in Texas. From 1995 to 1998, he worked as an Economist in the Statistics of Income Division, a think tank in the Internal Revenue Service. In 1994, Mr. Harwood obtained undergraduate degrees in Economics and English Literature at the University of Virginia. He graduated from the NavalPostgraduate School in 2017, earning a master’s degree in Security Studies with a focus on adaptive crisis response. Mr. Harwood is a published author and accomplished public speaker. He is currently developing border security coursework for Virginia Commonwealth University and runs a consultancy specializing in supply chain risk management, human rights due diligence, and customs regulatory compliance.