АҚШ Сауда өкілдігінің кеңсесі

United States trade body

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. 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., 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. 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 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.

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.

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 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.</blockquote>
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".

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.

#PortraitOfficeholderTerm startTerm endDays in officePresident(s)1Christian HerterDecember 10, 1962December 30, 1966 rowspan="1" John F. Kennedy rowspan="2" Lyndon Johnson2William RothMarch 24, 1967January 20, 19693Carl GilbertAugust 6, 1969September 21, 1971 rowspan="2" Richard Nixon4William EberleNovember 12, 1971December 24, 19745Frederick DentMarch 26, 1975January 20, 1977 rowspan="1" Gerald Ford6Robert StraussMarch 30, 1977August 17, 1979 rowspan="2" Jimmy Carter7Reubin AskewOctober 1, 1979December 31, 19808Bill BrockJanuary 23, 1981April 29, 1985 rowspan="2" Ronald Reagan9Clayton YeutterJuly 1, 1985January 20, 198910Carla HillsFebruary 6, 1989January 20, 1993 rowspan="1" George H. W. Bush11Mickey KantorJanuary 22, 1993April 12, 1996 rowspan="3" Bill Clinton —Charlene BarshefskyApril 12, 1996March 18, 199712April 12, 1996January 20, 200113Robert ZoellickFebruary 7, 2001February 22, 2005 rowspan="4" George W. Bush —Peter AllgeierFebruary 23, 2005May 16, 200514Rob PortmanMay 17, 2005May 29, 200615Susan SchwabJune 8, 2006January 20, 2009 —Peter AllgeierJanuary 21, 2009March 17, 2009 rowspan="5" Barack Obama16Ron KirkMarch 18, 2009March 15, 2013 —Demetrios MarantisMarch 15, 2013May 23, 2013 —Miriam SapiroMay 23, 2013June 21, 201317Michael FromanJune 21, 2013January 20, 2017 —Maria PaganJanuary 20, 2017March 1, 2017 rowspan="3" Donald Trump —Stephen VaughnMarch 2, 2017May 15, 201718Robert LighthizerMay 15, 2017January 20, 2021 —Maria PaganJanuary 20, 2021March 18, 2021 rowspan="2" Joe Biden19Katherine TaiMarch 18, 2021Incumbent