International Trade Administration


The International Trade Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes United States exports of nonagricultural U.S. services and goods.

Duties

The ITA's stated goals are to
  1. Provide practical information to help Americans select markets and products.
  2. Ensure that Americans have access to international markets as required by the U.S. trade agreements.
  3. Safeguard Americans from unfair competition from dumped and subsidized imports.

    Organization

ITA consists of three sub-units. These are: Industry and Analysis, Global Markets, and Enforcement and Compliance.
The U.S. Commercial Service, through its Strategic Corporate Partnership program, has Public Private Partnership agreements with 17 private organizations, including several banks, legal and regulatory organizations, transportation and shipping organizations, event organizers, trade risk service companies and the publisher of Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, The ecommerce partner is the Federation of International Trade Associations under which the USCS contributes market research and other reports on GlobalTrade.net.

Leadership

The ITA was created on January 2, 1980 and is headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, the principal adviser to the Secretary of Commerce on American imports and exports. The Under Secretary is the head of the International Trade Administration within the Commerce Department.
The Under Secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate. The last presidential appointee was Gilbert B. Kaplan, who was nominated by President Trump for the position of Under Secretary for International Trade on April 11, 2017, and confirmed by the Senate on March 13, 2018. Gilbert Kaplan left the position in late 2019. Joseph C. Semsar is currently Acting Under Secretary.

Overview

The Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade is the principal officer of the United States Department of Commerce charged with promoting American exports and assisting general international trade. As the Administrator of the International Trade Administration, the Under Secretary also sits on the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and serves as a member of the Tourism Policy Council and the National Intellectual Property Council. The Under Secretary participates in the development of United States trade policy, identifies and resolves market access and compliance issues, administers American trade laws, and undertakes a range of trade promotion and trade advocacy efforts.
With the rank of Under Secretary, the USC is a Level III position within the Executive Schedule. Since January 2014, the annual rate of pay for Level III appointees is $167,000.

Reporting officials

Officials reporting to the USC include:
NameAssumed officeLeft officeAppointed By
Robert E. Herzstein19801981Jimmy Carter
Lionel H. Olmer19811985Ronald Reagan
S. Bruce Smart19851987Ronald Reagan
W. Allen Moore19871989Ronald Reagan
J. Michael Farren19891992George H. W. Bush
Timothy Hauser 19921993George H. W. Bush
Jeffrey Garten19931995Bill Clinton

David Rothkopf		19951996Bill Clinton
Timothy Hauser 19961996Bill Clinton

Stuart E. Eizenstat		April 1996June 6, 1997Bill Clinton
David L. Aaron19972000Bill Clinton
Robert LaRussa20002001Bill Clinton
Timothy Hauser 20012001
Grant D. Aldonas20012005George W. Bush
Rhonda Keenum May 25, 2005March 20, 2007George W. Bush
Timothy Hauser 20052005George W. Bush
Peter Lichtenbaum 20052005George W. Bush

Frank Lavin		20052007George W. Bush
Michelle O'Neill 20072007George W. Bush

Christopher A. Padilla		December 19, 2007January 20, 2009George W. Bush

Frank Sanchez		March 29, 2010November 2013Barack Obama
Kenneth E. Hyatt 20132014Barack Obama

Stefan M. Selig		June 4, 2014June 2016Barack Obama
Kenneth E. Hyatt20162018Barack Obama

Gilbert B. Kaplan		March 20, 2018IncumbentDonald Trump