The Office of the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs (IA), which includes the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs, a deputy, staff attorneys, and support staff, principally advises the Under Secretary for International Affairs and the Assistant Secretaries for International Affairs.
The Office of the Assistant General Counsel (IA) provides legal advice in connection with a broad range of international economic and financial matters, including third world debt problems, issues involving the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, international trade and trade finance issues, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which the Secretary of the Treasury chairs, international investment, and international banking and securities issues.
During the past few years, members of the office have worked extensively on matters such as negotiations of free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties; CFIUS legislation and numerous CFIUS cases; debt swaps pursuant to the Tropical Forest Conservation Act; legal aspects of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue and exchange rate issues relating to China; implementation of Congressional mandates relating to U.S. participation in the international financial institutions; agreements to eliminate debt owed by the world’s poorest and most heavily indebted countries; and environmental issues affecting U.S. contributions to international financial institutions.