The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. 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 U.S. 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.
Kissinger Associates,Inc. is a New York City-based international geopolitical consulting firm,founded and run by Henry Kissinger since 1982. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities and advising them on government relations.
The status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. The designation was changed from most favored nation (MFN) to normal trade relations by Section 5003 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. Permanent was added to normal trade relations some time later.
Robert Bruce Zoellick is an American public official and lawyer who was the 11th president of the World Bank Group,a position he held from July 1,2007 to June 30,2012. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs,United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative,from February 7,2001 until February 22,2005. Zoellick has been a senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs since ending his term with the World Bank. He is currently a Senior Counselor at Brunswick Group.
Charlene Barshefsky served as United States Trade Representative,the country's top trade negotiator,from 1997 to 2001. She was the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1993 to 1997. She is a partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. She is also an advisor at Moelis &Company.
Peter Frederick Allgeier was the U.S. Deputy Trade Representative from May 2001 until August 2009. Allgeier was also the President of C&M International,Ltd.,an affiliate of Crowell &Moring LLP,a law firm with offices in Washington,D.C.,California,New York,Brussels,and London. He has been the President of the Coalition of Services Industries (CSI) since 2012.
Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the President to take all appropriate action,including tariff-based and non-tariff-based retaliation,to obtain the removal of any act,policy,or practice of a foreign government that violates an international trade agreement or is unjustified,unreasonable,or discriminatory,and that burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. Section 301 cases can be self-initiated by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) or as the result of a petition filed by a firm or industry group. If USTR initiates a Section 301 investigation,it must seek to negotiate a settlement with the foreign country in the form of compensation or elimination of the trade barrier. For cases involving trade agreements,the USTR is required to request formal dispute proceedings as provided by the trade agreements. The law does not require that the U.S. government wait until it receives authorization from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take enforcement actions,and the President is increasingly focused on enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights under the "Special" 301 amendments but the U.S. has committed itself to pursuing the resolution of disputes under WTO agreements through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism,which has its own timetable.
Merit E. Janow is a professor in the practice of international trade and dean at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs from 2013 to 2021.
Jennifer Anne Hillman is a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center,teaching courses in international economic law,including international trade,investment and international business transactions. As of 2016 she was also a partner at Cassidy Levy Kent,working on trade litigation.
Thomas Franklin "Mack" McLarty,III is an American business and political leader who served as President Bill Clinton's first White House Chief of Staff from 1993 to June 1994,and subsequently as Counselor to the President and Special Envoy for the Americas,before leaving government service in June 1998.
David Marchick is an American attorney,businessman,academic,and diplomat who serves as Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University. He previously served as chief operating officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation during the first year of the Biden Administration. He previously served as Director of the Center for Presidential Transition,as a Senior Executive at The Carlyle Group and in four departments in the Clinton Administration. He is the co-author of the book,"The Peaceful Transfer of Power:An Oral History of America's Presidential Transitions",published by UVA press.
The Special 301 Report is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that identifies trade barriers to United States companies and products due to the intellectual property laws,such as copyright,patents and trademarks,in other countries. By April 30 of each year,the USTR must identify countries which do not provide "adequate and effective" protection of intellectual property rights or "fair and equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property rights".
Demetrios J. Marantis is an American lawyer,senior government official and executive. He served as the acting United States Trade Representative (USTR) from March 15,2013,until May 23,2013. He served as the Deputy Trade Representative for four years under Ron Kirk,and became the acting Trade Representative when Kirk resigned in March 2013.
Miriam Elizabeth Sapiro served as the Deputy Trade Representative under Ron Kirk and became the acting Trade Representative on May 23,2013. A former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution,Sapiro served as well in the State Department and on the National Security Council under Presidents Reagan,Bush and Clinton.
Karan Krishna Bhatia is an American attorney and former senior official in the Bush administration. He currently leads public policy and government relations for Google. He served as the deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 2005 to 2007,credited with leading the negotiation of the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement. Additional appointments include Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs where he served from 2003 to 2005 and deputy under secretary of commerce for industry and security from 2001 to 2003. He served a total of six years in the Bush Administration before returning to the private sector in 2008 to lead government affairs for General Electric.
The Foreign Affairs Policy Board is an advisory board that provides independent advice and opinion to the Secretary of State,the Deputy Secretary of State,and the Director of Policy Planning on matters concerning U.S. foreign policy. The Board reviews and assesses global threats and opportunities,trends that implicate core national security interests,tools and capacities of the civilian foreign affairs agencies,and priorities and strategic frameworks for U.S. foreign policy. The Board meets in a plenary session several times a year at the U.S. Department of State in the Harry S. Truman Building.
Michael W. Punke is an American author,attorney,academic,and policy analyst. He is a former Deputy United States Trade Representative and U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva,Switzerland. In 2017,he became vice president for public policy at Amazon Web Services.
Robert Emmet Lighthizer is an American attorney and government official who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2017 to 2021.
María Luisa Pagán is an American attorney who is serving as the U.S. deputy trade representative in the Geneva office. Pagan was formerly the Deputy General Counsel of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR),giving legal advice about trade negotiations,agreements,and regulations.
Curtis Joseph "C.J." Mahoney is an American attorney and a Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft. Previously a partner at Williams &Connolly,Mahoney served as the Deputy United States Trade Representative from 2018 to 2020.
