*EPF512 12/06/2002
Text: USTR Celebrates 40 Years of Managing U.S. Trade Policy
(Zoellick lauds his 12 predecessors in the office since 1962) (770)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing the office's 40th anniversary and describing its history and the history of the Winder Building, which it occupies.

Following is the text of the press release:

(begin text)

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Executive Office of the President
Washington, D.C. 20508
December 6, 2002

USTR Celebrates 40 Years of Public Service

WASHINGTON -- The Office of the United States Trade Representative is saluting 40 years of outstanding achievement this afternoon with a reception that will bring together former USTRs, present and former USTR staff, and supporters of free trade in a celebration marking the agency's milestone anniversary. Before the reception, President George W. Bush will visit with USTR staff in the historic Winder building.

"Anniversaries are a time for reflection, a time to evaluate the pace of progress and to take pride in accomplishments," said U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick. "In looking back over the past 40 years, I join my colleagues and staff in feeling honored to be a part of a bipartisan legacy of promoting trade liberalization, and advancing prosperity, freedom, and human progress."

"The strong leadership and skillful negotiations of my predecessors in this office have propelled the opening of markets throughout the world, creating new economic opportunities for millions of Americans," Zoellick said. "These achievements have been possible only with the hard work and dedication of the select corps of talented USTR staff."

USTR has grown from a tiny staff of six when it was founded in 1962 to its present size of nearly 200 strong, with offices in Geneva and Brussels. The breadth and scale of today's trade negotiations has turned USTR into a 24/7 agency, with negotiators traveling to all parts of the world working toward greater openness of world markets.

The trade office came into existence under the administration of President John F. Kennedy. Initially called the Office of the Special Trade Representative, the agency was put in charge of negotiating all trade agreement programs under the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Trade Act of 1974 elevated the agency to a Cabinet-level position within the Executive Office of the President.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued an executive order changing the name of the agency to the Office of the United States Trade Representative and putting it in charge of administering overall trade policy throughout the government. USTR was designated as the nation's chief trade negotiator and as the representative of the United States in the major international trade organizations.

The head of the office, the United States Trade Representative, is a Cabinet-level official with the rank of ambassador who reports directly to the President. Zoellick is the 13th USTR; there have been six Republicans and seven Democrats to head the office since its founding.

History

USTR is headquartered in the historic Winder building, 600 17th N.W. The building is one of the few remaining pre-Civil War structures in the city. Built in 1848, it was the tallest building in the city when the first tenant -- the Army Ordinance Department -- took up residence. The building has housed a variety of government tenants over the years, including a military arms museum.

The U.S. Government purchased the building in 1854 for $200,000. In 1865, the roof of the Winder Building served as a signal station of the Washington detachment of the U.S. Signal Corps, which used flags to communicate with military camps around the city. In 1888, the Treasury Department took over the building, and during World War I the U.S. Army occupied several offices.

The General Services Administration took control of the building in 1949, and for several years the Office of Emergency Planning had its headquarters there. The White House began using the building in the 1970s after it was renovated. Prior to USTR's occupancy in 1981, the building housed the Council on Wage Price Stability. Former U.S. Trade Representative Bill Brock, upon learning that President Reagan would be abolishing the Wage Price Council, negotiated for USTR to move into the Winder building, vacating cramped offices on G Street.

Former U.S. Trade Representatives:

Charlene Barshefsky United States Trade Representative 1997-2000
Michael (Mickey) Kantor United States Trade Representative 1993-1996
Carla Hills United States Trade Representative 1989-1993
Clayton K. Yeutter United States Trade Representative 1985-1989
William E. Brock III United States Trade Representative 1981-1985
Reubin O'Donovan Askew United States Trade Representative 1979-1981
Robert S. Strauss Special Trade Representative 1977-1979
Frederick B. Dent Special Trade Representative 1975-1977
William D. Eberle Special Trade Representative 1971-1975
Carl J. Gilbert Special Trade Representative 1969-1971
William M. Roth Special Trade Representative 1967-1969
Christian A. Herter Special Trade Representative 1962-1966

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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