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United States Trade Representative

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United States Trade Representative
Seal of the United States Trade Representative
Flag of the United States Trade Representative
Incumbent
Katherine Tai
since March 18, 2021
Office of the United States Trade Representative
SeatWinder Building 600 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument19 U.S.C. § 2171
Inaugural holderChristian Herter
FormationDecember 10, 1962
DeputyDeputy Trade Representative (multiple)
SalaryExecutive Schedule, Level I
Websitewww.ustr.gov

The United States trade representative is the head of the Office of the United States Trade Representative and is the principal trade advisor to the president of the United States. The Trade Representative is responsible for managing and the day-to-day operations of the office. The trade representative is nominated by the president of the United States and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance, is confirmed by the Senate. The United States trade representative and deputy United States trade representatives (DUSTR) carry the rank of ambassador.[1]

The trade representative 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. The trade representative is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level $246,400, as of January 2024.[2][3]

The current United States trade representative is Katherine Tai, who was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the senate on March 18, 2021.[4]

History of the United States trade representative

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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.[5] In the 1970s, Congress expanded this position, making it more accountable to Congress (the position has been called "a creature of Congress"[6]), and made it cabinet-level. Finally, in 1980 the position was renamed the United States trade representative.[5]

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".[6] It also "required the USTR to report to both the president and Congress".[6]

List of United States trade representatives

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  Denotes an acting U.S. trade representative
  Denotes a 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. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
2 William Roth March 24, 1967 January 20, 1969 1 year, 302 days
3 Carl Gilbert August 6, 1969 September 21, 1971 2 years, 46 days Richard Nixon
4 William Eberle November 12, 1971 December 24, 1974 3 years, 42 days
5 Frederick Dent March 26, 1975 January 20, 1977 1 year, 300 days Gerald Ford
6 Robert Strauss March 30, 1977 August 17, 1979 2 years, 140 days Jimmy Carter
7 Reubin Askew October 1, 1979 December 31, 1980 1 year, 91 days
8 Bill Brock January 23, 1981 April 29, 1985 4 years, 96 days Ronald Reagan
9 Clayton Yeutter July 1, 1985 January 20, 1989 3 years, 203 days
10 Carla Hills February 6, 1989 January 20, 1993 3 years, 349 days George H. W. Bush
11 Mickey Kantor January 22, 1993 April 12, 1996 3 years, 81 days Bill Clinton
Charlene Barshefsky
Acting: 1996–1997
April 12, 1996 March 18, 1997 340 days
12 April 12, 1996 January 20, 2001 4 years, 283 days
13 Robert Zoellick February 7, 2001 February 22, 2005 4 years, 15 days George W. Bush
Peter Allgeier
Acting
February 23, 2005 May 16, 2005 113 days
14 Rob Portman May 17, 2005 May 29, 2006 1 year, 12 days
15 Susan Schwab June 8, 2006 January 20, 2009 2 years, 196 days
Peter Allgeier
Acting
January 21, 2009 March 17, 2009 55 days Barack Obama
16 Ron Kirk March 18, 2009 March 15, 2013 3 years, 362 days
Demetrios Marantis
Acting
March 15, 2013 May 23, 2013 100 days
Miriam Sapiro
Acting
May 23, 2013 June 21, 2013 28 days
17 Michael Froman June 21, 2013 January 20, 2017 3 years, 213 days
Maria Pagan
Acting
January 20, 2017 March 1, 2017 40 days Donald Trump
Stephen Vaughn
Acting
March 2, 2017 May 15, 2017 74 days
18 Robert Lighthizer May 15, 2017 January 20, 2021 3 years, 250 days
Maria Pagan
Acting
January 20, 2021 March 18, 2021 57 days Joe Biden
19 Katherine Tai March 18, 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 264 days


References

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  1. ^ "Mission of the USTR | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  3. ^ 5 U.S.C. § 5312
  4. ^ Bade, Gavin (March 17, 2021). "Senate confirms Tai as U.S. trade representative". Politico. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.