Blog Post
President Bush''s pick for chief trade representative is BCSIA Research Scholar Robert B. Zoellick— a Washington insider and close associate of former Secretary of State James A. Baker. During the Reagan and Bush administrations Zoellick served as Under-Secretary of State, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Trade Representative, who carries the rank of ambassador, is the chief U.S. negotiator in trade talks with other nations and will have cabinet rank in the Bush administration.
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on January 30, Zoellick offered a strong defense of the new administration''s free-trade policies and outlined an activist trade agenda. The New York Times quoted him as saying, "Expanded trade, imports as well as exports, improves the well-being of Americans." He also pledged to win approval of so-called fast-track legislation, which would give the administration expanded authority to negotiate trade agreements.
The Wall Street Journal predicted that international trade would dominate President Bush''s first year in office and pointed to Zoellick''s declaration that the U.S. should take the lead in crafting free-trade agreements. "We have to get back into this game," the Journal quotes him as saying. " If other countries go ahead with free-trade agreements, and we don''t . . . it''s our mistake."
In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Zoellick outlined his vision for a new foreign policy, with free trade as its centerpiece. He wrote that "the vitality of America''s private economy, the preeminence of its military power, and the appeal of the country''s ideas are unparalleled." America, he said, is at the hub of a changing economic world and must promote open competition among regions.