Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Labor
Josh Kagan serves as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Labor. His office is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy related to labor issues and workers’ rights.
Mr. Kagan oversees labor and trade issues for USTR, including serving as chief negotiator of labor provisions in multilateral, regional, and bilateral free trade agreements, formulating recommendations concerning countries’ adherence to worker rights provisions of U.S. trade preference programs, and developing U.S. positions on the relationship between trade and labor in the International Labor Organization, World Trade Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other relevant international bodies. Among his U.S. government interagency representational roles, he co-chairs the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement pursuant to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Act and represents USTR as a principal on the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force.
Mr. Kagan previously served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Labor. Prior to employment with USTR, Mr. Kagan served as Deputy Director of the Office of Trade and Labor Affairs in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs. He was a Presidential Management Fellow and held past positions as a public defender, Peace Corps Volunteer (Costa Rica), and Americorps NCCC member. Mr. Kagan began his work on international labor issues in 2004 by volunteering with an organization working to support labor rights and independent unions in Mexico.
Mr. Kagan holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, and an LL.M. in International Economic Law from Georgetown University Law Center. He was the recipient of the University of San Diego School of Law’s Outstanding Public Interest Advocate Award. He is married and has two children.
