Trade Expert Named Top U.S. Trade Representative

Jan. 11, 2001 -- Robert B. Zoellick, one of the most influential figures at the State Department in the previous Bush administration, is poised to take on a leading role on foreign economy policy as a member of President-elect George W. Bush's Cabinet.

The younger Bush named Zoellick, who worked closely with former Secretary of State James Baker III, a Bush family friend, nearly a decade ago, to become U.S. trade representative with Cabinet rank.

The trade representative, which carries the rank of ambassador, is the chief U.S. negotiator in trade talks with other nations. The post traditionally has been given Cabinet rank, a designation Bush decided to keep.

Zoellick will face a daunting number ofchallenges — from heading off trade wars with Europe toensuring that China meets its market-opening obligations.

But the tallest order of all for the president-elect's top trade negotiator could be overcoming anti-free tradesentiment at home and smoothing over bitter divisions inCongress over whether future U.S. trade deals should protectworkers and the environment.

Free Trade at America's Core

Zoellick says he believes free trade is at the core of America's strengths.

"Free trade is about freedom," Zoellick says. "It's important for our economy, but also for America's other interests and in values throughout the world. I've always believed that openness is America's trump card. It makes us stronger as a people, and it makes us more dynamic as a nation."

When Baker was treasury secretary in the Reagan administration, Zoellick served as his executive secretary, controlling the paper flow into Baker's office. He later was undersecretary of state for economic affairs when Baker headed the State Department in the elder Bush's administration.

He replaces outgoing Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, who leaves in the middle of negotiating a Free Trade Area of theAmericas and market-opening agreements with Chile andSingapore.

He is also expected to take the lead in shepherdingBarshefsky's landmark trade deals with Vietnam and Jordanthrough a potentially hostile Congress.

Zoellick also could quickly succeed in bringing China into theWorld Trade Organization (WTO) under the terms of a landmarkpact negotiated by Barshefsky, but will face the monumentaltask of ensuring Beijing lives up to its commitments.

An Experienced Public Servant

In naming Zoellick, Bush said he was choosing "an experienced public servant, a veteran diplomat, a good negotiator, and a man of great skill and energy."

Bush said Zoellick will help guide him with an assertive trade policy.

"We will open new markets for products grown and made in America. That will be one of our foremost goals. We will ensure that trade agreements areenforced and that American farmers and workers and entrepreneursare treated fairly."

Zoellick will also inherit a number of long-runningdisputes with the European Union over beef and banana tradepolicies, and could face trade wars over tax breaks forAmerican exporters and alleged European subsidies for AirbusIndustrie's superjumbo jet project.

But Zoellick's most critical challenge will likely besettling the thorny issue of whether labor standards andenvironmental safeguards should be included in future tradedeals. Bush and most congressional Republicans insist onkeeping them out.

Democrats have demanded their inclusion, and the AFL-CIOlabor federation warned the Bush team it could face a "bitterand divisive battle" if it ignores the demands of workers andenvironmentalists in future trade pacts.

Labor vs. Environment

The battle over labor and the environment took center stageat meetings of the WTO in Seattle in late 1999 after PresidentClinton suggested the United States could sanctioncountries that violate labor standards. Within days the Seattletrade talks collapsed, handing Clinton one of his biggestforeign policy defeats.

The labor and environment issue later emerged as thedefining difference on trade between the two major presidentialcandidates — Democrat Al Gore and Republican Bush.

On the stump Vice President Gore promised to only signtrade deals that incorporated labor and environmentalstandards, winning him wide support from labor unions, a keyconstituency. Bush said trade agreements should bestraightforward and as free from non-trade issues as possible.

Business groups rejoiced in Bush's victory in hopes he wouldremove labor and the environment from the trade mix.

Zoellick avoided the touchy subject at his first pressbriefing after his nomination. But he said "change isn't easy,"and promised to listen to the concerns of workers and to work"very closely with Congress, both sides of the aisle, from Day1."