Barbara Weisel was appointed to the position of Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at the Office of the United States Trade Representative in July 2004.  In this position, she is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy toward countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and ASEAN.   She is the lead negotiator for the U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Thailand and Malaysia.

Prior to this, Ms. Weisel served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative in the same office, where she was the deputy lead negotiator on the U.S.-Australia FTA and worked on the Singapore FTA as well as Korea bilateral issues.  Her office previously also handled global pharmaceutical issues. 

Ms. Weisel joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 1994.  She previously served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Bilateral Asian Affairs and Director for Japan Affairs in the Office of Japan. 

Prior to joining USTR, Ms. Weisel worked at the State Department from 1984-1994.  During this time, she served in a variety of positions, including as international economist on Japan, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa. 

Ms. Weisel received Masters Degrees in economic development and in Islamic civilization from Harvard University and her Bachelor's Degree from Connecticut College.