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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
Formed 1962
Preceding agency
  • Office of the Special Trade Representative
Headquarters Winder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Employees 200
Annual budget $73 million (FY 2021)
Agency executive
  • Juan Millán, Acting Trade Representative
Parent agency Executive Office of the President of the United States

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. 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.

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 (TPC), Trade Policy Committee Review Group (TPCRG), and Trade Policy Staff Committee (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. 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. In the 1970s, Congress expanded this position, making it more accountable to Congress (the position has been called "a creature of congress"), and made it cabinet-level. Finally, in 1980 the position was renamed the United States Trade Representative.

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". It also "required the USTR to report to both the President and Congress".

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. It is based on information provided by USTR, the U.S. departments of commerce and agriculture, and other agencies and sources.

The Special 301 Report

Annual Special 301 Report countries
     Priority Foreign Country      Priority Watch List      Watch List      Section 306 Monitoring      Out-of-Cycle Review/Status Pending

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.

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".

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

     Denotes an acting U.S. trade representative

# Portrait Name Term Start Term End Duration President(s)
1 Christian Archibald Herter (politician).jpg Herter, ChristianChristian Herter December 10, 1962 December 30, 1966 4 years, 20 days Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Johnson, LyndonLyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)
2 Portrait de William M. Roth.jpg Roth, WilliamWilliam Roth March 24, 1967 January 20, 1969 1 year, 302 days
3 No image.svg Gilbert, CarlCarl Gilbert August 6, 1969 September 21, 1971 2 years, 46 days Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon
(1969–1974)
4 No image.svg Eberle, WilliamWilliam Eberle November 12, 1971 December 24, 1974 3 years, 42 days
5 FrederickBailyDent.jpg Dent, FrederickFrederick Dent March 26, 1975 January 20, 1977 1 year, 300 days Ford, GeraldGerald Ford
(1974–1977)
6 RobertStrauss.jpg Strauss, RobertRobert Strauss March 30, 1977 August 17, 1979 2 years, 140 days Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
7 ReubinAskew.JPG Askew, ReubinReubin Askew October 1, 1979 December 31, 1980 1 year, 91 days
8 Bill brock.jpg Brock, BillBill Brock January 23, 1981 April 29, 1985 4 years, 96 days Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan
(1981–1989)
9 Clayton Keith Yeutter, 1990-04-24.jpg Yeutter, ClaytonClayton Yeutter July 1, 1985 January 20, 1989 3 years, 203 days
10 Carla A. Hills official portrait.jpg Hills, CarlaCarla Hills February 6, 1989 January 20, 1993 3 years, 349 days Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
11 MichaelKantor.jpg Kantor, MickeyMickey Kantor January 22, 1993 April 12, 1996 3 years, 81 days Clinton, BillBill Clinton
(1993–2001)
Charlene Barshefsky official portrait.jpg Barshefsky, CharleneCharlene Barshefsky April 12, 1996 March 18, 1997 4 years, 283 days
12 March 18, 1997 January 20, 2001
13 Zoellick, Robert (official portrait 2008).jpg Zoellick, RobertRobert Zoellick February 7, 2001 February 22, 2005 4 years, 15 days Bush, George W.George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
Peter Allgeier (cropped).jpg Allgeier, PeterPeter Allgeier
Acting
February 23, 2005 May 16, 2005 113 days
14 Rob Portman official photo.jpg Portman, RobRob Portman May 17, 2005 May 29, 2006 1 year, 12 days
15 Susan Schwab, USTR official photo.jpg Schwab, SusanSusan Schwab June 8, 2006 January 20, 2009 2 years, 196 days
Peter Allgeier (cropped).jpg Allgeier, PeterPeter Allgeier
Acting
January 21, 2009 March 17, 2009 55 days Obama, BarackBarack Obama
(2009–2017)
16 Ron Kirk official portrait.jpg Kirk, RonRon Kirk March 18, 2009 March 15, 2013 3 years, 362 days
DemetriosMarantis.jpg Marantis, DemetriosDemetrios Marantis
Acting
March 15, 2013 May 23, 2013 100 days
Miriam Sapiro official portrait.jpg Sapiro, MiriamMiriam Sapiro
Acting
May 23, 2013 June 21, 2013 28 days
17 Michael Froman official portrait.jpg Froman, MichaelMichael Froman June 21, 2013 January 20, 2017 3 years, 213 days
No image.svg Pagan, MariaMaria Pagan
Acting
January 20, 2017 March 1, 2017 40 days Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
(2017–2021)
Stephen P. Vaughn.png Vaughn, StephenStephen Vaughn
Acting
March 2, 2017 May 15, 2017 74 days
18 Robert E. Lighthizer official portrait (cropped).jpg Lighthizer, RobertRobert Lighthizer May 15, 2017 January 20, 2021 3 years, 250 days
No image.svg Pagan, MariaMaria Pagan
Acting
January 20, 2021 March 18, 2021 57 days Biden, JoeJoe Biden
(2021–2025)
19 Katherine Tai, official portrait.jpg Tai, KatherineKatherine Tai March 18, 2021 January 20, 2025 3 years, 349 days
Millán, JuanJuan Millán
Acting
January 20, 2025 present Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
(2025–present)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Oficina del Representante Comercial de los Estados Unidos para niños

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