Where Industry and Security Intersect
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Kenneth I. Juster was nominated by President Bush on March 15, 2001 to be Under Secretary of Commerce and sworn into office on May 14, 2001, after having been confirmed by the Senate. He is in charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security, which seeks to advance U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The Bureau oversees issues at the intersection of business and national security, including strategic trade controls, imports and foreign acquisitions that affect U.S. security, enforcement of antiboycott laws, and industry compliance with international arms control agreements.
On behalf of the Administration, Mr. Juster serves as co-chair with India’s Foreign Secretary of the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group, which is designed to reduce barriers to high-technology trade with India while protecting against the proliferation of sensitive goods and technologies. He also developed and launched the Commerce Department’s Transshipment Country Export Control Initiative, which focuses on enhancing security at major transshipment hubs without unnecessarily burdening international trade.
During his tenure as Under Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Juster has received the 2002 and 2004 Friendship Awards from the U.S.-Panama Business Council (for contributions to U.S.-Panama relations); the 2004 Blackwill Award from the U.S.-India Business Council (for contributions to U.S.-India relations); and the Vasco Núñez de Balboa en el Grado de Gran Cruz Decoration and Medal in 2004 from the President of Panama (for contributions to U.S.-Panama relations).
Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Mr. Juster was a senior partner in the law firm of Arnold & Porter. He has broad experience in U.S. foreign policy, international trade and transactions, and dispute resolution. He has represented clients in international investments, international arbitrations, GATT/WTO proceedings, general litigation, and a wide range of corporate, regulatory, and public policy issues.
Mr. Juster served as the Counselor (Acting) of the U.S. Department of State from 1992 to 1993, and as the Deputy and Senior Adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger from 1989 to 1992. He was one of the key U.S. government officials involved in establishing and managing U.S. assistance programs to Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He also was actively involved in policy matters relating to China, Japan, Latin America, Israel, and the Persian Gulf. Upon completion of his tenure at the Department, Mr. Juster received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award and Medal, the State Department’s highest honor.
Prior to joining the State Department in August 1989, Mr. Juster was a partner at Arnold & Porter, where he had practiced since 1981. A former law clerk to Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Mr. Juster also worked at the National Security Council in 1978.
Mr. Juster has published extensively on international economic and legal issues. His publications include Making Economic Policy: An Assessment of the National Economic Council (Brookings Institution, 1997), “The Myth of Iraqgate” in Foreign Policy magazine (Spring 1994), and “The Libyan Sanctions: A Rational Response to State-Sponsored Terrorism?” in the Virginia Journal of International Law (Summer 1986). Mr. Juster has been a guest speaker at a number of academic institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Georgetown.
Raised in Scarsdale, New York, Mr. Juster holds a law degree from the Harvard Law School, a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard College. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he was a Visiting Fellow in 1993. He also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a former AFS exchange student to Thailand.
July 2004