*EPF409 08/07/2003
Text: Deputy Trade Representative Shiner Sworn Into Office
(Has lead responsibility for Asian, African trade negotiations) (460)

Josette Sheeran Shiner has been sworn in as deputy U.S. trade representative for Asian and African negotiations following her confirmation by the Senate.

In an August 6 press release the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) described Sheeran Shiner's past role as assistant trade representative and top adviser to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.

Before joining USTR she worked in journalism and technology services.

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

August 6, 2003

Josette Sheeran Shiner Sworn in as Deputy United States Trade Representative

WASHINGTON -- Today, Josette Sheeran Shiner was sworn in as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. As part of her responsibilities, Sheeran Shiner will be the lead U.S. negotiator for trade issues involving East Asia, South Asia, and Africa. She will also oversee issues concerning labor and environment and trade capacity building. Sheeran Shiner was nominated to the deputy position by President George Bush and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2003.

"Open markets benefit American workers, families, consumers and businesses, as well as providing hope and opportunity to the developing world," said Sheeran Shiner. "President Bush and Ambassador Zoellick have restored America's leadership in global trade liberalization, and I intend to do everything I can to maintain this momentum and to ensure that our trading partners implement their commitments to us."

Before her nomination, Sheeran Shiner was the Associate U.S. Trade Representative and one of Zoellick's top advisers, serving as a chief policy strategist on trade and globalization issues and overseeing numerous negotiating sectors as well as the agency's communications and outreach operations.

With a wide-ranging background in policy, journalism and the private sector, Sheeran Shiner brings a unique combination of talents to government service. Before joining USTR, she was managing director of Starpoint Solutions, a leading Wall Street technology firm that works with Fortune 500 clients. Prior to Starpoint, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Empower America.

During her tenure as managing editor of The Washington Times, she twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror, including for foreign reporting. As a reporter, she covered the White House, Congress and State Department and wrote a nationally syndicated column for Scripps Howard News Service. In 1997, Washingtonian magazine named Sheeran Shiner as one of Washington's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Sheeran Shiner is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She received the Press Award for Journalistic Achievement by the National Order of Women Legislators and a national award for developing and promoting African-American journalists.

(end text)

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

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