U.S. Senate Confirms New Trade Official
One day before breaking for the holidays, the Senate approved Miriam Sapiro to be the new deputy U.S. trade representative.
Sapiro, a former State Department lawyer under the Clinton administration, is now president of Summit Strategies International, which advises nonprofit organizations and companies on international Internet- and telecommunications-policy issues. Her approval came on Dec. 24.
While working during the Clinton administration, she helped in the negotiations on the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the Bosnian wars.
“Miriam Sapiro brings years of valuable expertise and experience and will be a stellar addition to the USTR leadership team,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a statement.
When addressing the Senate Finance Committee last spring, Sapiro said she would work for an aggressive trade agenda to open up new markets for U.S. businesses and bring new jobs to the country. “Throughout my career in government and the private sector, I have seen first-hand how economic growth, fueled by trade, can raise the standard of living for Americans and people around the world,” she said. “As a small-business owner, I have a special affinity for the many small and medium enterprises that form the backbone of our export industry. These businesses and their workers drive our economy and deserve a seat at the trade table.”
In 2008, she said, trade in goods and services accounted for 30 percent of the U.S. economy, and exports accounted for 13 percent. Nearly half of the growth in gross domestic product from 2005 to 2008 came from exports.
Two other key USTR positions, Michael Punke as U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization and Isi Siddiqui as chief agricultural negotiator, were approved unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee and now must be approved by the full Senate after the legislators return Jan. 19.—Deborah Belgum
