TEXT: WHITE HOUSE APPOINTS FISHER AS DEPUTY USTR
(Will be responsible for APEC-designated tariff cuts)

Washington -- President Clinton has appointed Richard Fisher as one of three deputy U.S. trade representatives under U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky.

"In his new post, Mr. Fisher will negotiate with the nine industry sectors for market opening and tariff reductions which were identified by ministers and leaders in Vancouver at the APEC meeting. This must be completed by June 1998," the White House said in a statement issued late December 16.

Fisher, a managing partner in an investment firm and a professor at the University of Texas, brings in considerable previous government experience, including executive assistant to the secretary of the Treasury, assistant to President Carter at the Tokyo Economic Summit in 1979, adviser to the Bonn Economic Summit in 1978, and a member of the team that negotiated the Claims and Asset Settlement between the United States and China.

Clinton nominated Fisher in October, but the Senate did not consider his nomination before adjourning for the year. Having a recess appointment -- that is, made while the Senate is not in session -- for a permanent, not an acting, position, Fisher can serve through the rest of Clinton's term with or without Senate confirmation, according to an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) spokesman.

Following is the text of the statement:

(begin text)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

December 16, 1997

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES RICHARD W. FISHER
AS DEPUTY U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE (WASHINGTON)
WITH THE RANK OF AMBASSADOR
AT THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

The President today announced the recess appointment of Richard W. Fisher to be Deputy United States Trade Representative (Washington) with the rank of Ambassador. Mr. Fisher was nominated on October 9, 1997. Currently, his nomination is pending before the Senate.

Richard W. Fisher, of Dallas, Texas, is a managing partner with Fisher Capital Management and Fisher Ewing Partners. He is Principal Investor and Chairman of FS3 and is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School. He held several positions during the Carter Administration, including Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Treasury, assistant to President Carter at the Tokyo Economic Summit in 1979, advisor to the Bonn Economic Summit in 1978, and a member of the team that negotiated the historic Claims and Asset Settlement between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. Currently, Mr. Fisher is Chairman of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, Director of the United States Russia Investment Fund and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 1994, Mr. Fisher was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from his home state of Texas. He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Economics in 1971, and received an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1975.

The Deputy United States Trade Representative (Washington) is responsible for conducting trade negotiations and assisting the United States Trade Representative in developing and implementing international trade policy.

In his new post, Mr. Fisher will negotiate with the nine industry sectors for market opening and tariff reductions which were identified by ministers and leaders in Vancouver at the APEC meeting. This must be completed by June 1998.

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