Office of the United States Trade Representative

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Office of the United States Trade Representative
US-TradeRepresentative-Seal.svg
Seal of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Flag of the United States Trade Representative.svg
Flag of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Agency overview
Formed1962
Preceding agency
  • Office of the Special Trade Representative
Headquarters Winder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Employees200
Annual budget$73 million (FY 2021)
Agency executive
  • Juan Millán, Acting Trade Representative
Parent agency Executive Office of the President of the United States
Website ustr.gov OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting United States foreign trade policies. [1] Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by the U.S. trade representative, a Cabinet-level position that serves as the United States president's primary advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade matters. USTR has more than two hundred employees, with offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium.

Contents

USTR was established as the Office of the Special Trade Representative (STR) by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, leads trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinates trade policy with other government agencies through the Trade Policy Committee [2] (TPC), Trade Policy Committee Review Group [3] (TPCRG), and Trade Policy Staff Committee [4] (TPSC). Its areas of expertise include foreign direct investment, commodity agreements, trade-related intellectual property protection, and trade disputes before the World Trade Organization. Based in Washington, D.C., Juan Millan is the current acting United States trade representative.

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.

In the Obama administration, Michael Froman served as the US trade representative from 2013 to 2017, with Michael Punke and Robert Holleyman serving as deputy US trade representatives. [5] Ambassador Punke also concurrently served as the U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Robert Lighthizer served during the Trump's first presidency. Katherine Tai served during the presidency of Joe Biden.

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.

History of the United States trade representative

Trade negotiations became more complicated in the twentieth century with the rise of multilateral organizations and technological advances allowing for more commerce. As a result, the organization of the U.S. government (with Congress in charge of regulating foreign commerce and the executive branch in charge of treaties) became less efficient and in 1962 Congress passed a bill calling for the president to appoint a Special Representative for Trade Negotiations who would make suggestions to the president on the matters of trade. [6] In the 1970s, Congress expanded this position, making it more accountable to Congress (the position has been called "a creature of congress" [7] ), and made it cabinet-level. Finally, in 1980 the position was renamed the United States Trade Representative. [6]

The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 elevated the position's role to "coordinate trade policy, serve as the President's principal trade advisor and trade 'spokesperson', and lead U.S. international trade negotiations". [7] It also "required the USTR to report to both the President and Congress". [7]

Issue areas

Reports

National Trade Estimate

The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (National Trade Estimate or NTE) is an annual series prepared by the USTR, which reports significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. Since 1986, the NTE has provided, 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. [9] It is based on information provided by USTR, the U.S. departments of commerce and agriculture, and other agencies and sources. [9]

The Special 301 Report

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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. [10]

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". [11]

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. [12]

List of United States trade representatives

  Denotes an acting U.S. trade representative
#PortraitNameTerm StartTerm EndDurationPresident(s)
1 Christian Archibald Herter (politician).jpg Christian Herter December 10, 1962December 30, 19664 years, 20 days John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Lyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)
2 Portrait de William M. Roth.jpg William Roth March 24, 1967January 20, 19691 year, 302 days
3 No image.svg Carl Gilbert August 6, 1969September 21, 19712 years, 46 days Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
4 No image.svg William Eberle November 12, 1971December 24, 19743 years, 42 days
5 FrederickBailyDent.jpg Frederick Dent March 26, 1975January 20, 19771 year, 300 days Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
6 RobertStrauss.jpg Robert Strauss March 30, 1977August 17, 19792 years, 140 days Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
7 ReubinAskew.JPG Reubin Askew October 1, 1979December 31, 19801 year, 91 days
8 Bill brock.jpg Bill Brock January 23, 1981April 29, 19854 years, 96 days Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
9 Clayton Keith Yeutter, 1990-04-24.jpg Clayton Yeutter July 1, 1985January 20, 19893 years, 203 days
10 Carla A. Hills official portrait.jpg Carla Hills February 6, 1989January 20, 19933 years, 349 days George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
11 MichaelKantor.jpg Mickey Kantor January 22, 1993April 12, 19963 years, 81 days Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
— Charlene Barshefsky official portrait.jpg Charlene Barshefsky April 12, 1996March 18, 19974 years, 283 days
12March 18, 1997January 20, 2001
13 Zoellick, Robert (official portrait 2008).jpg Robert Zoellick February 7, 2001February 22, 20054 years, 15 days George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
— Peter Allgeier (cropped).jpg Peter Allgeier
Acting		February 23, 2005May 16, 2005113 days
14 Rob Portman official photo.jpg Rob Portman May 17, 2005May 29, 20061 year, 12 days
15 Susan Schwab, USTR official photo.jpg Susan Schwab June 8, 2006January 20, 20092 years, 196 days
— Peter Allgeier (cropped).jpg Peter Allgeier
Acting		January 21, 2009March 17, 200955 days Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
16 Ron Kirk official portrait.jpg Ron Kirk March 18, 2009March 15, 20133 years, 362 days
— DemetriosMarantis.jpg Demetrios Marantis
Acting		March 15, 2013May 23, 2013100 days
— Miriam Sapiro official portrait.jpg Miriam Sapiro
Acting		May 23, 2013June 21, 201328 days
17 Michael Froman official portrait.jpg Michael Froman June 21, 2013January 20, 20173 years, 213 days
— No image.svg Maria Pagan
Acting		January 20, 2017March 1, 201740 days Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
— Stephen P. Vaughn.png Stephen Vaughn
Acting		March 2, 2017May 15, 201774 days
18 Robert E. Lighthizer official portrait (cropped).jpg Robert Lighthizer May 15, 2017January 20, 20213 years, 250 days
— No image.svg Maria Pagan
Acting		January 20, 2021March 18, 202157 days Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
19 Katherine Tai, official portrait.jpg Katherine Tai March 18, 2021January 20, 20253 years, 334 days
— Juan Millán
Acting		January 20, 2025present Donald Trump
(2025–present)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mission of the USTR | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ "15 CFR § 2002.0 - Trade Policy Committee" . Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ "15 CFR § 2002.1 - Trade Policy Committee Review Group" . Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  4. ↑ "15 CFR § 2002.2 - Trade Policy Staff Committee" . Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  5. ↑ Obama taps Penny Pritzker, Mike Froman for top economic jobs . CBS News (2013-05-02). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  6. 1 2 Claussen, Kathleen (2017). "Trading Spaces: The Changing Role of the Executive in U.S. Trade Lawmaking". Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 24 (2): 345–368. doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0345. ISSN   1080-0727. JSTOR   10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0345. S2CID   158184598.
  7. 1 2 3 U.S. Trade Policy Functions: Who Does What? (2020). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11016.pdf on 2021-01-14.
  8. ↑ "Issue Areas | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Office of the United States Trade Representative. "Reports and Publications". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. ISBN   978-1-59031-359-6.
  11. ↑ Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. pp. 18–19. ISBN   978-1-59031-359-6.
  12. ↑ "USTR Releases 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy". United States Trade Representative. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
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