For Immediate Release: January 11, 2008
Contact: Brittany Eck (202) 482-3809
Import Administration Commends the Service of Joseph A. Spetrini, Retiring Deputy Assistant Secretary for AD/CVD Policy and Negotiations
Welcomes Ronald K. Lorentzen as Acting DAS
Washington –David Spooner, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration, congratulated Joseph A. Spetrini on his retirement from his position as Deputy Assistant Secretary for AD/CVD Policy and Negotiations. Spooner also announced that Ronald K. Lorentzen has been named as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for AD/CVD Policy and Negotiations.
Joe Spetrini served in the federal government for 32 years, the last 19 as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in Import Administration. Spetrini administered AD/CVD cases involving industrial products ranging from uranium, semiconductors and steel to agricultural products such as lumber, tomato and honey and played an integral role in the Department’s recent decision to reverse over 20 years of trade policy by applying the CVD law to imports from China. An expert negotiator, he led the Department’s efforts on dozens of bilateral agreements including a major deal with Russia governing U.S.-Russia steel trade following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the recent landmark settlement of a long-standing trade dispute over Mexican cement.
Prior to joining the Commerce Department, Spetrini served at the Labor Department from 1975 to 1976. After serving in Commerce's Office of International Trade Policy working on the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations during 1976-78, he worked in U.S. Customs Headquarters, participating in various import programs from 1978 through 1980. Spetrini returned to Commerce in 1981 to continue his distinguished civil service career in Import Administration. He also served with distinction in the United States Navy.
“Joe is a civil servant of the highest degree and his dedication and expertise have earned him the utmost respect of his peers in government and the trade community at large,” said Assistant Secretary Spooner. “The Department has greatly benefitted from Joe’s extensive experience across a broad range of trade issues and from his outstanding leadership. We’ll miss him tremendously.”
Acting in Spetrini’s place is Ron Lorentzen. Since 2003, Lorentzen has been Director of Import Administration’s Office of Policy where he is chief policy advisor on the administration of the U.S. unfair trade law. Previously, Ron was the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO Affairs. Before beginning his tenure at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Lorentzen held several positions at the Commerce Department beginning with a fellowship in the Office of Technology Policy and in Import Administration working on a variety of antidumping and subsidies issues, including the Uruguay Round negotiations on subsidies and antidumping rules.
“I am pleased to welcome Ron Lorentzen as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary,” said Assistant Secretary Spooner. “Ron has more than twenty years of experience representing the U.S. government on trade policy issues and I have great confidence that he will do an excellent job as he assumes these additional responsibilities.”
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