U.S. Trade Representative Will Step Down

Ron Kirk, the United States trade representative, will step down in late February, his office said Tuesday. Lael Brainard and Michael Froman, two top administration aides on international economic policy, are considered among the front-runners to succeed him, people knowledgeable about trade policy said.

“From bringing home new trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama and negotiating to open up new markets for American businesses to cracking down on unfair trade practices around the world, he has been a tremendous advocate for the American worker,” President Obama said in a statement.

The White House did not say when a successor would be named to the job, a cabinet-level position that advises the president on trade policy and negotiates trade agreements.

The next trade representative will inherit a full slate of issues. The administration is negotiating a free-trade deal with nearly a dozen Pacific Rim nations, including Canada, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam and Singapore, though not the regional powers of China and Japan. It is also edging closer to free-trade talks with the European Union.

Mr. Kirk, 58, a former mayor of Dallas, made clear last year that he intended to resign. In addition to losing another cabinet-level assistant, Mr. Obama is also losing a favored golf partner in Mr. Kirk.

“We have made great strides to bring about the president’s vision of a more robust, responsible and responsive trade policy that opens markets to products stamped ‘Made in America’ and enforces Americans’ trade rights around the world,” Mr. Kirk said in a statement.

Mr. Froman, 50, who has known Mr. Obama since they attended Harvard Law School together, holds a joint appointment at the White House National Security Council and National Economic Council. Ms. Brainard, also 50, an under secretary at the Treasury Department and a contender for secretary later in Mr. Obama’s second term, is the country’s top financial diplomat.

Mr. Kirk, Mr. Froman and Ms. Brainard are attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, according to an official list of participants.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/business/us-trade-representative-will-step-down.html?partner=rss&emc=rss