Posted May 23, 2014
The Senate Finance Committee has unanimously confirmed Darci Vetter as Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), according to an article by Farm Futures available here. Vetter’s nomination will now move to the full Senate.
Vetter is a native of Nebraska and is currently Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the USDA. Her previous roles with the USTR office include Director for Agricultural Affairs from 2005 to 2007 and Director for Sustainable Development from 2001 to 2005.
Agricultural trade interests are currently focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) negotiations. A recent post from this blog on the TPP negotiations is available here.
American Soybean Association President Ray Gaesser said, “The job for which Ms. Vetter was confirmed today is to ensure that the success of the partnerships between American agriculture and our foreign customers continues to grow and strengthen…Ms. Vetter’s knowledge and experience, not only of international trade but also the specific needs of our industry, are extremely powerful assets.”
Vetter’s remarks are available here. She said, “I am committed to advancing our ongoing negotiations – TPP and T-TIP – where we are pursuing high-standard trade agreements that will create significant new market access opportunities for U.S. agriculture. Eliminating tariffs and unwarranted SPS and TBR barriers on agricultural products will ensure our agricultural producers can continue to export high-quality, safe American food and agricultural products.”
For more information on international trade, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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