Office of the United States Trade Representative

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is a department within the Executive Office of the President focused on advising the president on trade issues. It was established by Congress in 1962 with the passage of the Trade Expansion Act.[1] Congress passed several bills in the following decades to expand the office, including the Omnibus Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 and the Trade Act of 2002.[1][2]

President Joe Biden (D) announced Katherine Tai was his nominee to lead the office as U.S. trade representative on December 10, 2020. The Senate confirmed her on March 17, 2021, by a vote of 98-0. Click here to learn more about her confirmation process.

Mission

The USTR provides the following mission on its website:

“

American trade policy works toward opening markets throughout the world to create new opportunities and higher living standards for families, farmers, manufacturers, workers, consumers, and businesses. The United States is party to numerous trade agreements with other countries, and is participating in negotiations for new trade agreements with a number of countries and regions of the world.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing negotiations with other countries. The head of USTR is the U.S. Trade Representative, a Cabinet member who serves as the president’s principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues.[3]

”
—Office of the United States Trade Representative[1]

Activities

The USTR listed the following areas of expertise and activities on its website:

“
  • Bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment issues
  • Expansion of market access for American goods and services
  • International commodity agreements
  • Negotiations affecting U.S. import policies
  • Oversight of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Section 301 complaints against foreign unfair trade practices, as well as Section 1377, Section 337 and import relief cases under Section 201
  • Trade, commodity, and direct investment matters managed by international institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Trade-related intellectual property protection issues
  • World Trade Organization (WTO) issues[3]
 ”
—Office of the United States Trade Representative[1]

Leadership

This table provides a list of U.S. trade representatives from 2001 to 2021.[4]

U.S. trade representatives, 2001-2021
Director Tenure Administration
Katherine Tai 2021-Present Democratic Party Joe Biden
Robert Lighthizer 2017-2021 Republican Party Donald Trump
Michael Froman 2013-2017 Democratic Party Barack Obama
Ron Kirk 2009-2013 Democratic Party Barack Obama
Susan Schwab 2006-2009 Republican Party George W. Bush
Rob Portman 2005-2006 Republican Party George W. Bush
Robert Zoellick 2001-2005 Republican Party George W. Bush

Executive Office of the President

See also: Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a group of federal entities responsible for advising and supporting the president's policy agenda and administration. The EOP's composition has changed over time as different presidential administrations have added, transferred, and removed entities from the office.

Under the Biden administration, the EOP included the following 11 offices:

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Office of the United States Trade Representative. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Office of the United States Trade Representative - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, "Mission," accessed March 22, 2021
  2. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "U.S. Trade Policy Functions," December 3, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, "List of Past USTRS," accessed March 22, 2021
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