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Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)
Practical Law Glossary Item w-028-2523 (Approx. 4 pages)
Glossary
Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)
An office within the Executive Office of the President that is responsible for developing US policies on international trade and for managing trade negotiations. The US Trade Representative, a member of the President's cabinet, leads the office and is the primary trade consultant, negotiator, and spokesperson for the President.
As part of its work to develop trade policy and manage trade negotiations, the USTR is responsible for:
- Expanding market access for US goods and services globally.
- Developing US interagency policy for international trade and investment issues, including:
- bilateral and regional trade and investment issues;
- multilateral trade and investment issues;
- complaints against foreign unfair trade practices, including investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act), investigations under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, and import relief cases under Section 201 of the Trade Act (see Practice Notes, US Trade Remedies and Other Import Relief Measures and ITC Section 337 Patent Investigations: Overview); and
- trade and direct investment matters managed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and other international non-governmental organizations.
- Overseeing trade negotiations and negotiations affecting import policies.
- Trade-related intellectual property issues.
- International commodity agreements.
- Policy coordination regarding matters before the World Trade Organization.
The USTR works with other US government agencies and outside committees on trade issues. For example:
- Remedies ordered by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 337 are subject to Presidential review on policy grounds for 60 days after issuance, and the USTR conducts this review on behalf of the President (19 U.S.C. § 1337(j); 70 Fed. Reg. 43251 (July 26, 2005)).
- The USTR coordinates with other agencies through the Trade Policy Review Group and the Trade Policy Staff Committee, both of which it administers and chairs.
- The USTR obtains input and reports on proposed trade agreements from various private sector advisory committees made up of members with a demonstrated interest or expertise in US trade policy.
For more information on the role of the USTR as part of the broader system of US international trade law, see Practice Note, US and International Regulation of Tariffs.