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 Organisation. Based in Washington, D.C., Katherine Tai is the current United States Trade Representative.
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.
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]
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 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]
^Obama taps Penny Pritzker, Mike Froman for top economic jobs May 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. CBS News (2013-05-02). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
^ abClaussen, 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.
^"Issue Areas | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
^ abOffice of the United States Trade Representative. . Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
^Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. ISBN978-1-59031-359-6.
^Masterson, John T. (2004). International trademarks and copyright: enforcement and management. American Bar Association. pp. 18–19. ISBN978-1-59031-359-6.
^"USTR Releases 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy". United States Trade Representative. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
External links
USTR website
Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Federal Register
USTR Reports and Publications.
Google Books
January 26, 2023
office, united, states, trade, representative, ustr, agency, united, states, federal, government, responsible, developing, promoting, american, trade, policy, part, executive, office, president, headed, trade, representative, cabinet, level, position, that, se. 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 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 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 Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeSeal of the Office of the U S Trade RepresentativeFlag of the Office of the U S Trade RepresentativeAgency overviewFormed1962Preceding agencyOffice of the Special Trade RepresentativeHeadquartersWinder Building 600 17th St NW Washington D C Employees200Annual budget 73 million FY 2021 Agency executivesKatherine Tai Trade RepresentativeJayme White Deputy Trade RepresentativeSarah Bianchi Deputy Trade RepresentativeMaria Pagan Deputy Trade Representative Geneva Vacant Chief Agriculture NegotiatorGreta Peisch General CounselParent agencyExecutive Office of the President of the United StatesWebsitewww wbr ustr wbr govUSTR 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 Organisation Based in Washington D C Katherine Tai is the current United States Trade Representative Contents 1 Organization 1 1 Leadership 1 2 Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs 2 History of the United States Trade Representative 3 Issue areas 4 Reports 4 1 National Trade Estimate 4 2 The Special 301 Report 4 3 Notorious markets 5 List of United States trade representatives 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOrganization EditLeadership Edit 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 Presidency Katherine Tai the current U S trade representative was nominated by Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate on March 17 2021 by a vote of 98 0 Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs Edit 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 EditTrade 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 EditAgriculture Economy and trade Enforcement Environment Government procurement Industry and manufacturing Intellectual property Labor Preference Programs Services and Investment Small Business Textiles and apparel Trade and development Trade organizations The World Trade Organization WTO Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN and the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development OECD 8 Reports EditNational Trade Estimate Edit 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 Edit Main article Special 301 Report 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 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 Edit Main article 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 Edit Denotes an Acting U S Trade Representative Denotes Nominee for U S Trade Representative Portrait Officeholder Term start Term end Days in office President s 1 Christian Herter December 10 1962 December 30 1966 4 years 20 days John F KennedyLyndon Johnson2 William Roth March 24 1967 January 20 1969 1 year 302 days3 Carl Gilbert August 6 1969 September 21 1971 2 years 46 days Richard Nixon4 William Eberle November 12 1971 December 24 1974 3 years 42 days5 Frederick Dent March 26 1975 January 20 1977 1 year 300 days Gerald Ford6 Robert Strauss March 30 1977 August 17 1979 2 years 140 days Jimmy Carter7 Reubin Askew October 1 1979 December 31 1980 1 year 91 days8 Bill Brock January 23 1981 April 29 1985 4 years 96 days Ronald Reagan9 Clayton Yeutter July 1 1985 January 20 1989 3 years 203 days10 Carla Hills February 6 1989 January 20 1993 3 years 349 days George H W Bush11 Mickey Kantor January 22 1993 April 12 1996 3 years 81 days Bill Clinton Charlene BarshefskyActing 1996 1997 April 12 1996 March 18 1997 340 days12 April 12 1996 January 20 2001 4 years 283 days13 Robert Zoellick February 7 2001 February 22 2005 4 years 15 days George W Bush Peter AllgeierActing February 23 2005 May 16 2005 113 days14 Rob Portman May 17 2005 May 29 2006 1 year 12 days15 Susan Schwab June 8 2006 January 20 2009 2 years 196 days Peter AllgeierActing January 21 2009 March 17 2009 55 days Barack Obama16 Ron Kirk March 18 2009 March 15 2013 3 years 362 days Demetrios MarantisActing March 15 2013 May 23 2013 100 days Miriam SapiroActing May 23 2013 June 21 2013 28 days17 Michael Froman June 21 2013 January 20 2017 3 years 213 days Maria PaganActing January 20 2017 March 1 2017 40 days Donald Trump Stephen VaughnActing March 2 2017 May 15 2017 74 days18 Robert Lighthizer May 15 2017 January 20 2021 3 years 250 days Maria PaganActing January 20 2021 March 18 2021 57 days Joe Biden19 Katherine Tai March 18 2021 Incumbent 1 year 314 daysSee also EditInternational Trade Administration United States International Trade Commission United States Commercial ServiceReferences Edit Mission of the USTR United States Trade Representative ustr gov Retrieved March 12 2021 15 CFR 2002 0 Trade Policy Committee Retrieved January 19 2022 15 CFR 2002 1 Trade Policy Committee Review Group Retrieved January 19 2022 15 CFR 2002 2 Trade Policy Staff Committee Retrieved January 19 2022 Obama taps Penny Pritzker Mike Froman for top economic jobs Archived May 6 2013 at the Wayback Machine CBS News 2013 05 02 Retrieved on 2013 08 12 a b 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 a b c 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 Issue Areas United States Trade Representative ustr gov Retrieved November 14 2018 a b Office of the United States Trade Representative Reports and Publications Archived from the original on November 11 2013 Retrieved November 25 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 USTR Releases 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy United States Trade Representative Retrieved August 27 2022 External links EditUSTR website Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Federal Register USTR Reports and Publications Google Books Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Office of the United States Trade Representative amp oldid 1134236143, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
