Senate Approves Ron Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative

Special from Official Export Guide

On March 18, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of United States Trade Representative (USTR) designee Ron Kirk as the nation’s 16th trade representative. As USTR, Kirk is member of President Obama’s Cabinet and serves as the President’s principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues.

Kirk draws upon more than 25 years of diverse legislative and legal experience on local, state and federal levels. He served as the mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002, where he was involved with a range of trade programs, including numerous trade missions. Previously, Governor Ann Richards appointed him as Texas Secretary of State, he served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and he was named as chair of Texas’ General Service Commission. Ambassador Kirk also served as a City of Dallas assistant city attorney.

The office of USTR is responsible for the development and oversight of U.S. trade policy, including strategy, negotiation, implementation and enforcement of multilateral, regional/bilateral and sector-specific trade agreements. These include the ongoing Doha Development Agenda multilateral trade negotiations, as well as 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) to which the United States is currently a party. As well, Ambassador Kirk is responsible for U.S. trade policy involving agriculture; industry; services and investment; intellectual property; environment; labor; development and preference programs.