Federal Position Descriptions
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Undersecretary for International Trade

Undersecretary for International Trade, Department of Commerce
Responsibility
Management Scope

The International Trade Administration had a fiscal 2020 budget of $510 million (total budget outlays – estimate) and 1,533 employees.2

Primary Responsibilities

• Oversees policy for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, which promotes U.S. exports and investment, and provides commercial diplomacy support for U.S. business interests around the world.
• Sets policy for the manufacturing and services division, which strengthens U.S. competitiveness abroad by helping shape industry-specific trade policy.
• Oversees policy for the market access and compliance division, which assists U.S. companies and helps create trade opportunities through the removal of market access barriers.
• Establishes policy for the import administration, which enforces U.S. trade laws and agreements to prevent unfairly traded imports and to safeguard the competitive strength of U.S. business.
• Sits in for the secretary and deputy secretary as needed.

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Strong technical trade background.
• In-depth understanding of trade policy.

Competencies

• Ability to act as a spokesperson to sell the president’s trade policy.
• Strong management skills and motivational leadership style.
• Ability to synthesize information quickly, since the undersecretary of commerce for international trade often sits in for the secretary.
• Diplomatic skills, since the International Trade Administration works extensively with both federal and international senior officials.
• Effective and cooperative interagency player.
• Skilled negotiator.

Past Appointments
  • Gilbert B. Kaplan (2018 to 2019) – Partner, King & Spalding; Director of the Office of Investigations, Department of Commerce; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Commerce
  • Stefan Selig (2014 to 2016) – Executive Vice Chairman of Global Corporate and Investment Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Bank of America Securities; Co-head of Mergers and Acquisitions, UBS Securities
  • Francisco Sánchez (2010 to 2014) – Senior Advisor to Secretary of Commerce, Department of Commerce; Senior Policy Advisor, President Obama (pre-presidency); Chairman, National Hispanic Leadership Council
AGENCY

Department of Commerce

Mission: To create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity

COMPENSATION

Level III $168,400 (5 U.S.C. § 5314)1

REPORTS TO

Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Secretary of Commerce

SENATE COMMITTEE

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

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Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260, December 27 ,2020), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials through January 1, 2022. The compensation information is based on guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and can be accessed here. If you are selected for this position, please consult the agency’ HR representative for further guidance on compensation.
  2. https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/fy2021_ita_congressional_budget_justification.pdfLeadership Directories: https://lo.bvdep.com/OrgDocument.asp?OrgId=-1&LDIBookId=19&LDIOrgId=152316&LDISecId=180&FromRecent=1&Save=0#O152316
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