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| USTR Announces New Chair of Environment Advisory Committee | |
| Contact: Richard Mills / Ricardo Reyes | (202) 395-3230 | 07/25/2003 |
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Block served as Chief of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1988-91, where he was responsible for federal environmental criminal investigations and prosecutions. He has been co-chair of an American Bar Association Environmental Crimes Committee. In his current private practice, he works on environmental criminal defense, environmental compliance programs and internal investigations. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and has served on TEPAC since 1995. He has also published numerous articles and books on environmental law in both environmental publications and academic/legal journals. "Jerry Block brings great expertise and creative thinking to some of the complex issues we face in the intersection of trade and environment policies," Zoellick stated. "I appreciate his willingness to serve as chairman and look forward to getting his advice, and that of the full committee, on the Administration's ambitious trade agenda. This includes building on our recent successes in the Chile and Singapore FTAs by seeking robust environmental provisions, coupled with groundbreaking cooperation mechanisms, to further promote environmental protection in future FTAs." Jerry Block stated, "I am honored to be appointed Chairman of TEPAC. I look forward to continuing TEPAC's important role in advising USTR and EPA on trade and environment issues. TEPAC has contributed to ensuring strong environmental provisions in the Jordan, Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Under the Trade Act of 2002, TEPAC is mandated to continue this role. Preserving the world's environment while increasing global trade is a critical goal for US trade policy." Background TEPAC is part of the private sector trade advisory committee system, established by the Congress under the Trade Act of 1974. The advisory committee system was created to ensure that U.S. trade policy and trade negotiation objectives adequately reflect U.S. interests. In recent months, TEPAC has been active in advising USTR and EPA on environmental reviews of trade agreements, bilateral environmental cooperation programs, the WTO Doha Development Agenda, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, various bilateral trade agreements, processes for civil society input into trade negotiations, and other matters. The current membership of the TEPAC is listed below. Trade and
Environment Policy Advisory Committee Dennis Avery
Hudson Institute |