Office of the United States Trade Representative

Office of the United States 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
Agency executives	Ron Kirk, Ambassador Peter Allgeier, Deputy Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Deputy Ambassador
Parent agency	Executive Office of the President of the United States
Website
www.ustr.gov

     Priority Watch List      Watch List      Section 306 Monitoring

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the President of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade policy within the government through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) and Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG).

Established as the Office of the Special Trade Representative (STR) under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the USTR is part of the Executive Office of the President. With over 200 employees, the USTR has offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium. The current United States Trade Representative is Ron Kirk.

Staff

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). The United States Trade Representative and Deputy United States Trade Representatives (DUSTR) carry the title of Ambassador.

Ron Kirk is the current Trade Representative, and Peter Allgeier and Demetrios Marantis are the current Deputy Trade Representatives.

The Special 301 Report

Since the enactment of Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, the USTR has played a key role in the expansion of intellectual property laws worldwide,^[who?] and monitored efforts by other governments to protect IP rights.

The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 created the Special 301 mechanism^[1] , the USTR issues an annual Special 301 Report which "examines in detail the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights" in many countries around the world. Countries may be designated in the categories of Priority Watch List, Watch List, and/or Section 306 Monitoring status.

The Report also regularly attacks price controls that distort and damage free market incentives for the creation of intellectual property, particularly in the area of pharmaceuticals.^{[citation needed]}

Most countries included in the Priority Watch List and Watch List between 1996 and 2000 where requested by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America or International Intellectual Property Alliance.^[2]

List of United States Trade Representatives

Image	Trade Representative	From	To	Appointed by
	Christian Herter	1962	1966	John Kennedy
	William M. Roth	1967	1969	Lyndon Johnson
	Carl J. Gilbert	1969	1971	Richard Nixon
	William D. Eberle	1971	1975	Richard Nixon
	Frederick B. Dent	1975	1977	Gerald Ford
	Robert S. Strauss	1977	1979	Jimmy Carter
	Reubin O'Donovan Askew	1979	1981	Jimmy Carter
	William E. Brock III	1981	1985	Ronald Reagan
	Clayton K. Yeutter	1985	1989	Ronald Reagan
	Carla A. Hills	1989	1993	George H. W. Bush
	Mickey Kantor	1993	1997	Bill Clinton
	Charlene Barshefsky	1997	2001	Bill Clinton
	Robert Zoellick	2001	2005	George W. Bush
	Rob Portman	2005	2006	George W. Bush
	Susan Schwab	2006	2009	George W. Bush
	Ron Kirk	2009	present	Barack Obama

See also

• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
• Doha Development Round
• Generalized System of Preferences
• International Trade Administration
• International Trade Commission
• United States Commercial Service
• World Trade Organization

References

External links

• USTR website
• 2005 Special 301 Report (pdf)
• 2009 Special 301 Report
• USTR Trade Data
• U.S. Chamber State Fact Sheets

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