Reif brings decades of experience as government’s top trade compliance official and as former counsel to Ways and Means Committee to role that will coordinate trade transparency between the Administration, Congress, and the public
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced today that Timothy Reif has been selected to serve as USTR's Chief Transparency Officer, a role established in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA). The bipartisan TPA establishes the position to promote transparency in the development and implementation of trade policy.
“Tim is uniquely qualified to further this Administration’s unprecedented efforts to make trade negotiations more accessible and transparent to the public and their representatives in Congress,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “From his time as a senior congressional trade policy advisor to his many years leading the U.S. government’s trade enforcement efforts, Tim brings a wealth of expertise to the job of furthering our transparency priorities.”
The designation of Mr. Reif as Chief Transparency Officer ensures that the new position will be represented at a senior level at a critical time in trade policy, as negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) move toward completion and negotiations continue on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA), and the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), among others.
Before joining USTR in 2009 as General Counsel, Mr. Reif served as Chief International Trade Counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he advised on the regulation of all international trade, investment, regulatory and economic matters, and related legislation. Mr. Reif received his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and his Master of Public Affairs and Bachelor degrees from Princeton University.
For more information on transparency and the Obama Administration trade agenda visit: https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/fact-sheets/2015/january/fact-sheet-transparency-and-obama.
