The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on March 14th to consider the nomination of Robert Lighthizer, of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, to serve as the next U.S. Trade Representative. The U.S. Trade Representative is the head of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and is a Cabinet member who serves as the President’s principal trade advisor.
Lighthizer, who has focused his career on trade litigation and policy, was a deputy trade representative during the Reagan administration, and he was chief of staff for the Senate Committee on Finance. Lighthizer is a vocal advocate for an enforcement-focused U.S. trade policy.
Former King & Spalding LLP attorney Stephen Vaughn, who worked with Lighthizer at Skadden, is the current trade representative, on an interim basis.
The selection of Lighthizer as President Trump’s pick to serve as the new U.S. Trade Representative has not been as controversial as other recent Cabinet nominees. However, Lighthizer’s status as an advocate for the Brazilian government in a 1985 trade case appears to require a waiver before he can serve as the U.S. Trade Representative.
President Trump has promised to renegotiate international trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and punish companies that ship work overseas, and it appears that the selection of Lighthizer is consistent with this approach. President Trump said in announcing Lighthizer as his choice for the U.S. Trade Representative that Lighthizer would help “fight for good trade deals that put the American worker first.”
The USTR is an agency that negotiates directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements to resolve disputes and participate in global trade policy organizations. The USTR is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing negotiations with other countries. The USTR works closely with Congress and specifically with the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, the two Committees with principle responsibility for international trade issues.