United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman announced the Co-Chairs of a China Enforcement Task Force within USTR.
The establishment of the task force follows through on a commitment made in the top-to-bottom review of US-China trade policy unveiled by Ambassador Portman on February 14, 2006.
The task force will be Co-Chaired by Stephen Kho, who is serving as the Acting Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, and Terry McCartin, now the Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for China Enforcement.
They are joined on the task force by veteran USTR staffers specializing in intellectual property rights, industrial policies, agriculture, services, investment, WTO affairs and textiles, among others.
"China is now a mature trading partner, and must live up to its obligations, particularly in the areas of market access and intellectual property rights enforcement," Portman said. "We are ready to use all of the tools available to us to achieve our objectives."
"That is why we are putting together a top notch team to strengthen our ability to enforce China's international and bilateral trade obligations."
"Steve and Terry bring a wealth of proven experience in WTO litigation and US-China trade negotiations, and I am pleased that they will be leading the new task force," said Ambassador Portman.
For the past year, Mr Kho has served as the principal attorney on China trade matters in the General Counsel's Officeat USTR. Previously, he worked for three years as a legal advisor in USTR's mission in Geneva, Switzerland, where he handled dozens of WTO disputes on behalf of the United States.
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