Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing negotiations with other countries. It seeks to contribute to U.S. economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity by opening markets and reducing trade and investment barriers around the world. The head of USTR is the U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet level position that serves as the president’s principal trade adviser, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues.

The U.S. economy is unquestionably tied to international trade. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the United States exported about $1.6 trillion in goods and services in 2007 and imported about $2.3 trillion. The number of multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade agreements that USTR has negotiated, and to which the United States is a party, has increased substantially in the last two decades. According to USTR, these agreements have greatly expanded markets and provided benefits for American workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers. However, U.S. public opinion on the benefits of free trade are mixed, and continued liberalization of trade rules throughout the world is a difficult undertaking. Moreover, ensuring that U.S. companies obtain the benefits that trade agreements are to provide requires vigilant monitoring and enforcement by USTR and other trade agencies.