A staff of a few hundred negotiators handles disputes at the World Trade Organization, enforces existing trade agreements, and runs the Section 301 tariff process that has reshaped U.S.-China trade. Under fast-track trade law it reports to Congress as well as the President.
Open the interactive page for USTR →Created byOffice of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations created by Exec. Order 11075 (1963) under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962; made a statutory office in the EOP by Trade Act of 1974 § 141; renamed and strengthened by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1979 and Exec. Order 12188 (1980)
Head appointed19 U.S.C. § 2171(b)(1): United States Trade Representative appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate (nomination referred to Senate Finance); rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary; Cabinet-rank by presidential designation, not conferred by the statute; no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — 19 U.S.C. § 2171(b)(1): the Trade Representative 'shall hold office at the pleasure of the President'
Funded underappropriated — Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act ('Office of the United States Trade Representative, Salaries and Expenses' account, plus transfers from the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund)
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on Ways and Means · Senate Committee on Finance
Inspector generalnone — EOP component not covered by the Inspector General Act (5 U.S.C. ch. 4); GAO audits
Judicial reviewSection 301 trade actions reviewed in the U.S. Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) (In re Section 301 Cases, CIT 2022-23, aff'd sub nom. HMTX Indus. LLC v. United States, Fed. Cir. Sept. 25, 2025; cert. petition filed Feb. 2026, pending); APA review narrowed where USTR implements presidential action
Submit comments in USTR's public dockets on proposed agreements and tariff actions; vote for President, who sets trade policy; major trade agreements require congressional approval.