Bush Appoints New U.S. Trade Representative: Does it Matter?

There are few more influential trade positions in the world than the U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position for the U.S. government’s chief trade negotiator. One can make the case that the USTR is more important than, say, the Commerce Secretary and certainly the USTR’s international portfolio makes it one of the leading international cabinet offices (behind Defense and State).

But USTRs have not traditionally been leading political figures and it has not always been seen as a plum (or important) post in the U.S. government. Case in point: President Bush is shifting the current USTR, Robert Portman, to his budget office two weeks before the so-called April 30 deadline for the WTO’s Doha round. He has appointed the current deputy USTR Susan Schwab in Portman’s place. Schwab, a former dean of Maryland’s public policy school and former trade negotiator, is deeply experienced. But she is not a political figure of any significance (unlike Portman, who was at least a former Congressman). I have no doubt that Schwab is qualified technically to do her job, but she does not appear (on paper) to have the kind of political weight that USTRs need to work with Congress effectively or even within the executive branch. Perhaps this is a sign that trade is not such a big priority anymore for this administration. But hopefully I’m wrong.