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 | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1962 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Headquarters | Winder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C. |
| Employees | 200 |
| Annual budget | $54 million (FY 2016) |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President of the United States |
| Website | www.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]
Contents
1 Organization
1.1 Leadership
1.2 Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs
2 Reports
2.1 National Trade Estimate
2.2 The Special 301 Report
2.3 Notorious markets
3 List of United States Trade Representatives
4 Living former Trade Representatives
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
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
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
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 October 2018, 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 |
Bill Brock | 1981–1985 | (1930-11-23) November 23, 1930 |
Carla Hills | 1989–1993 | (1934-01-03) January 3, 1934 |
Mickey Kantor | 1993–1996 | (1939-08-07) August 7, 1939 |
Charlene Barshefsky | 1996–2001 | (1950-08-11) August 11, 1950 |
Robert Zoellick | 2001–2005 | (1953-07-25) July 25, 1953 |
Rob Portman | 2005–2006 | (1955-12-19) December 19, 1955 |
Susan Schwab | 2006–2009 | (1955-03-23) March 23, 1955 |
Ron Kirk | 2009–2013 | (1954-06-27) June 27, 1954 |
Michael Froman | 2013–2017 | (1962-08-20) August 20, 1962 |
See also
- International Trade Administration
- United States International Trade Commission
- United States Commercial Service
References
^ "The White House". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-19..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
^ Obama taps Penny Pritzker, Mike Froman for top economic jobs. CBS News (2013-05-02). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
^ 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.
^ Statement by United States Trade Representative Michael Froman |Office of the United States Trade Representative. Ustr.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
^ ab Office of the United States Trade Representative. "Reports and Publications". Retrieved 25 November 2013.
^ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. ISBN 978-1-59031-359-6.
^ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-59031-359-6.
External links
- USTR website
Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Federal Register
USTR Reports and Publications.- Google Books
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