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.
John Cornyn III is an American politician,attorney,and former jurist serving as the senior United States senator from Texas,a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party,he served on the Texas Supreme Court from 1991 to 1997 and as the attorney general of Texas from 1999 to 2002.
The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson,who has served one term since 2019 and is the 60th mayor to serve in the position. Dallas operates under a city charter that designates the mayor as the official head of city government and a council-manager system where a city council-appointed city manager serves as the chief operating officer of the city.
Robert Walker Holleyman II served as the United States Deputy Trade Representative,with the rank of ambassador,in the Office of the United States Trade Representative in September,2014 to January 2017. Previously he was the President &CEO of the Business Software Alliance (BSA),the trade consortium which represents the interests of major software houses globally.
Kenneth Edward Bentsen Jr. is an American lobbyist and former politician from Texas,serving four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He is the nephew of former senator and secretary of the treasury,Lloyd Bentsen.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA),was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies:Australia,Brunei,Canada,Chile,Japan,Malaysia,Mexico,New Zealand,Peru,Singapore,Vietnam,and the United States. In the United States,the proposal was signed on 4 February 2016 but not ratified,being opposed by many Democrats and Republicans,including both major-party presidential nominees,Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. After taking office,the newly elected President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from TPP in January 2017,therefore the TPP could not be ratified as required and did not enter into force. The remaining countries negotiated a new trade agreement called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership,which incorporates most of the provisions of the TPP and which entered into force on 30 December 2018.
Kirk Preston Watson is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 59th mayor of Austin,Texas since 2023,previously holding the office as the 54th mayor from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party,he ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General in the 2002 election,when he was defeated by Republican Greg Abbott,later governor of Texas. In 2006,Watson was elected to the Texas Senate from District 14.
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.
The fast track authority for brokering trade agreements is the authority of the President of the United States to negotiate international agreements in an expedited manner and with limited congressional oversight. Renamed the trade promotion authority (TPA) in 2002,the TPA is an impermanent power granted by Congress to the President. It remained in effect from 1975 to 1994,pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974 and from 2002 to 2007 pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002. Although it technically expired in July 2007,it remained in effect for agreements that were already under negotiation until their passage in 2011. In June 2015,a third renewal passed Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 5,2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Phil Gramm decided to retire,instead of seeking a fourth term. State Attorney General Republican John Cornyn won the open seat. This was the first open-seat election since 1984.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6,2012,along with other elections to the United States Senate the United States House of Representatives in additional states. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fourth full term. This was the first open seat in this seat since 1957.
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".
Victoria Angelica Espinel is the president and chief executive of the software industry trade group BSA.
Eric Lynn Johnson is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 60th mayor of Dallas,Texas,since June 2019. A Republican since September 2023,Johnson previously served as a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives,where he represented District 100 in the cities of Dallas and Mesquite.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican senator and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn ran for re-election to a third term. Primary elections were held on March 4,2014. Since no Democratic candidate received over 50% in the first round of the primary,a runoff election was required on May 27,2014. David Alameel,who came in first in the primary,won the runoff and became his party's nominee. In the general election,Cornyn defeated Alameel in a landslide.
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.
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 negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement were held between 12 countries between 2008 and 2015. The negotiations were aimed at obtaining an agreement between the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement parties Brunei,Chile,Singapore and New Zealand,as well as the Australia and the United States.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3,2020,to elect a member to the United States Senate to represent the State of Texas,concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn won re-election to a fourth term against Democratic nominee MJ Hegar by 9.6%.
Robert Emmet Lighthizer is an American attorney and government official who was the United States Trade Representative in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.
