"Tim Keeler has a tremendous background in trade related issues and will bring considerable knowledge and skills to USTR," said Schwab. "As a veteran of the Senate Finance Committee and the Treasury Department, he also has a unique understanding of trade politics. I’m very pleased he’s joining the USTR team."

Timothy J. Keeler comes to the United States Trade Representative’s Office after spending 5 years in two positions at the Department of Treasury. After serving on the 2001 Presidential Transition Team as a policy coordinator for the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration and the International Trade Commission, Keeler joined the Treasury Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs with responsibility for international issues. These included capital market sanctions, foreign exchange rate policy testimony, authorizations of and appropriations for U.S. agreements to replenish the Multilateral Development Banks, and multilateral debt relief.

In September 2002, Keeler was appointed as the Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. His responsibilities included managing the Office of Legislative Affairs for the Assistant Secretary and advising on all personnel, policy, and legal issues. Keeler focused on leading Treasury nominees through the U.S. Senate confirmation process; advising on Treasury Intelligence matters; and contributing to the Treasury Secretary’s strategic planning. Keeler has twice been awarded the Secretary’s Honor Award.

Prior to his time at Treasury and on the Presidential Transition team, he served as a professional staff member for international trade on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance from 1998 to 2001. Here, Keeler worked on permanent normal trade relations with China, preferential trade programs for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean basin, and oversight of Executive Branch trade agencies.

Mr. Keeler holds a B.S.E. in Engineering Science from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA and a Juris Doctor from the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, VA. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and was an Associate Editor of the George Mason Law Review.

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