Office of the Special Trade Representative

Office of the United States Trade Representative

Seal of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Flag of the U.S. Trade Representative
Agency overview
Formed	1962
Preceding agency	Office of the Special Trade Representative
Headquarters	Winder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Employees	200
Annual budget	$54 million (FY 2016)
Agency executives	Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Dennis Shea, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (Geneva) Gregory Doud, Chief Agriculture Negotiator
Parent agency	Executive Office of the President of the United States
Website	www.ustr.gov

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the President of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade policy within the government through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) and Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG).

Established as the Office of the Special Trade Representative (STR) under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the USTR is part of the Executive Office of the President. With over 200 employees, the USTR has offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium. The current U.S. Trade Representative is Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, who was announced by President-Elect Donald J. Trump on January 3, 2017. Lighthizer was confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2017, by a vote of 82–14.

The head of the office holds the title of United States Trade Representative (USTR), which is a Cabinet-level position, though not technically within the Cabinet, as is the case with office heads not of US Departments but rather of offices contained within the Executive Office of the President. To fill the post, the President nominates someone for the position, and the appointment is then approved or rejected by a simple majority of the Senate. The United States Trade Representative and Deputy United States Trade Representatives (DUSTR) carry the title of Ambassador.

Michael Froman served as the US Trade Representative until 2017, with Michael Punke and Robert Holleyman serving as Deputy US Trade Representatives. Ambassador Punke also concurrently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).