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Office of the United States Trade Representative

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Office of the United States Trade Representative
Seal of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Flag of the U.S. Trade Representative
Agency overview
Formed1962
Preceding agency
  • Office of the Special Trade Representative
HeadquartersWinder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Employees200
Annual budget$54 million (FY 2016)
Agency executives
Parent agencyExecutive Office of the President of the United States
Websitewww.ustr.gov
  Priority Foreign Country
  Priority Watch List
  Watch List
  Section 306 Monitoring
  Out-of-Cycle Review/Status Pending

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the President of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade policy within the government through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) and Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG).

Established as the Office of the Special Trade Representative (STR) under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the USTR is part of the Executive Office of the President. With over 200 employees, the USTR has offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium. The current U.S. Trade Representative is Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, who was announced by President-Elect Donald J. Trump on January 3, 2017.[1] Lighthizer was confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2017, by a vote of 82–14.[2]

Organization

Leadership

The head of the office holds the title of United States Trade Representative (USTR), which is a Cabinet-level position, though not technically within the Cabinet, as is the case with office heads not of US Departments but rather of offices contained within the Executive Office of the President. To fill the post, the President nominates someone for the position, and the appointment is then approved or rejected by a simple majority of the Senate. The United States Trade Representative and Deputy United States Trade Representatives (DUSTR) carry the title of Ambassador.

Michael Froman served as the US Trade Representative until 2017, with Michael Punke and Robert Holleyman serving as Deputy US Trade Representatives. Ambassador Punke also concurrently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On May 2, 2013, President Obama nominated Michael Froman to succeed Ambassador Ron Kirk as the U.S. Trade Representative.[3] The Senate confirmed Froman on June 19, 2013, and he was sworn into office on June 21, 2013.[4][5]

Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs

The USTR participates in the World Trade Organization, which is currently in the Doha Development Round. This is partially managed by the USTR Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs (WAMA). Relevant WTO agreements include the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Generalized System of Preferences.

Reports

National Trade Estimate

The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (National Trade Estimate or NTE) is an annual series that surveys prepared by the USTR, which reports significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. Since 1986, the NTE provides, where feasible, quantitative estimates of the impact of these foreign practices on the value of U.S. exports. Information is also included on actions taken to eliminate barriers.[6] It is based on information provided by USTR, the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, and other agencies and sources.[6]

The Special 301 Report

Main article: Special 301 Report

The Special 301 Report is prepared annually by the USTR under Section 182 as amended of the Trade Act of 1974. The Act states that the USTR must on an annual basis, by April of each year:

identify those foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, or deny fair and equitable markets access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property protection, and those foreign countries identified under" this "paragraph that are determined by the Trade Representative to be priority foreign countries". The Act defines "priority foreign countries" as "those foreign countries that have the most onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny adequate and effective intellectual property rights, or deny fair and equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property protection, whose acts, policies, or practices described in" this "paragraph have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on the relevant United States products, and that are not entering into good faith negotiations, or making significant progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights.[7]

The Uruguay Round Agreement Act furthermore states that countries may be identified under Special 301 "taking into account the history of intellectual property laws and practices of the foreign country, including any previous identifications" and "the history of efforts of the United States, and the response of the foreign country, to achieve adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights". It also states that compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights does not include a country from being identified as denying "adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights".[8]

Notorious markets

Main article: Notorious markets

In 2006, along with the International Intellectual Property Alliance, the USTR published a list of places where large-scale copyright infringement takes place in the Special 301 Report. Since 2010, the notorious markets report has been published as a separate report.

List of United States Trade Representatives

Peter Allgeier, Acting February 23, 2005 May 16, 2005 Peter Allgeier, Acting January 21, 2009 March 17, 2009
Portrait Officeholder Term start Term end President
Christian Herter December 10, 1962 December 30, 1966 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
William Roth March 24, 1967 January 20, 1969
Carl Gilbert August 6, 1969 September 21, 1971 Richard Nixon
William Eberle November 12, 1971 December 24, 1974
Frederick Dent March 26, 1975 January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford
Robert Strauss March 30, 1977 August 17, 1979 Jimmy Carter
Reubin Askew October 1, 1979 December 31, 1980
Bill Brock January 23, 1981 April 29, 1985 Ronald Reagan
Clayton Yeutter July 1, 1985 January 20, 1989
Carla Hills February 6, 1989 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush
Mickey Kantor January 22, 1993 April 12, 1996 Bill Clinton
Charlene Barshefsky
Acting: 1996–1997 		April 12, 1996 January 20, 2001
Robert Zoellick January 20, 2001 February 22, 2005 George W. Bush
Rob Portman May 17, 2005 May 29, 2006
Susan Schwab June 8, 2006 January 20, 2009
Ron Kirk March 18, 2009 March 15, 2013 Barack Obama
Demetrios Marantis
Acting 		March 15, 2013 May 23, 2013
Miriam Sapiro
Acting 		May 23, 2013 June 21, 2013
Michael Froman June 21, 2013 January 20, 2017
Maria Pagan
Acting 		January 20, 2017 March 1, 2017 Donald Trump
Stephen Vaughn
Acting 		March 2, 2017 May 15, 2017
Robert Lighthizer May 15, 2017 Incumbent

Living former Trade Representatives

As of November 2024, there are ten living former Trade Representatives (with all Representatives that have served since 1989 still living), the oldest being Frederick Dent (served 1975–1977, born 1922). The most recent and recently serving Representative to die was Clayton Yeutter (served 1985–1989, born 1930) on March 4, 2017.

Name Term Date of birth (and age)
Frederick Dent 1975–1977 (1922-08-17) August 17, 1922 (age 102)
Bill Brock 1981–1985 (1930-11-23) November 23, 1930 (age 93)
Carla Hills 1989–1993 (1934-01-03) January 3, 1934 (age 90)
Mickey Kantor 1993–1996 (1939-08-07) August 7, 1939 (age 85)
Charlene Barshefsky 1996–2001 (1950-08-11) August 11, 1950 (age 74)
Robert Zoellick 2001–2005 (1953-07-25) July 25, 1953 (age 71)
Rob Portman 2005–2006 (1955-12-19) December 19, 1955 (age 68)
Susan Schwab 2006–2009 (1955-03-23) March 23, 1955 (age 69)
Ron Kirk 2009–2013 (1954-06-27) June 27, 1954 (age 70)
Michael Froman 2013–2017 (1962-08-20) August 20, 1962 (age 62)

See also

References

  1. ^ "The White House". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  2. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  3. ^ Obama taps Penny Pritzker, Mike Froman for top economic jobs. CBS News (2013-05-02). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  4. ^ Senate confirms Michael Froman as trade chief – Politics standard used in IRS cases – Lawmakers urge changes to IRS accounting rule – POLITICO Morning Tax. Politico.Com (2013-06-27). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  5. ^ Statement by United States Trade Representative Michael Froman |Office of the United States Trade Representative. Ustr.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  6. ^ a b Office of the United States Trade Representative. "Reports and Publications". Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  7. ^ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. ISBN 978-1-59031-359-6.
  8. ^ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-59031-359-6.
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