María Pagán
United States Deputy Trade Representative for the Office of Geneva
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 14, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
LeaderKatherine Tai
United States Trade Representative
Acting
In office
January 20, 2021 – March 18, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byRobert Lighthizer
Succeeded byKatherine Tai
In office
January 20, 2017 – March 2, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMichael Froman
Succeeded byRobert Lighthizer
Personal details
BornPuerto Rico
EducationTufts University (BA)
Georgetown University (MA, JD)

María Luisa Pagán[1] (also spelled as Maria Pagan) is an American attorney who is serving as the U.S. deputy trade representative in the Geneva office. Pagan was formerly the Deputy General Counsel of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), giving legal advice about trade negotiations, agreements, and regulations.[2]

Biography

Born in Puerto Rico, Pagán received her bachelor's degree from Tufts University and a master's degree and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. After being a legal adviser at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1993 to 2003, Pagán has been working at the USTR. She had a leading role in several trade negotiation teams.[3][2]

During the transition from the Obama to the Trump governments, she served as the acting United States Trade Representative.[4] On January 20, 2021, she once again assumed the position of acting United States Trade Representative.[5] In August 2021, President Joe Biden appointed her to serve as Envoy to the World Trade Organization (WTO).[6]

Deputy U.S Trade Representative

Pagan was nominated by President Biden on August 10, 2021.[7] Hearings were held on Pagan's nomination by the Senate's Finance Committee on October 26, 2021. The committee reported the nomination favorably to the Senate floor on November 17, 2021 by a 27-1 vote.[8] On March 10, 2022, the Senate confirmed Pagan to be the next U.S trade representative in Geneva, Switzerland by a vote of 80-19.[9]

References

  1. ^ Hayashi, Yuka (2021-08-10). "WSJ News Exclusive | Biden to Nominate María Pagán as U.S. Envoy to World Trade Organization". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  2. ^ a b "Maria Pagan, Deputy General Counsel". ustr.gov. Office of the United States Trade Representative. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  3. ^ For example, she was the leader of the Negotiating Group on Dispute Settlement in negotiations Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), see "U.S. government negotiating team for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)" (PDF). Office of the United States Trade Representative. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Maria Pagan assumes acting USTR role; Tim Reif to advise Lighthizer". InsideTrade.com. 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  5. ^ "President Joe Biden Announces Acting Federal Agency Leadership". The White House. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  6. ^ Hayashi, Yuka (August 10, 2021). "Biden to Nominate María Pagán as U.S. Envoy to World Trade Organization". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  7. ^ "President Biden Announces Ten Key Nominations". The White House. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ "PN1053 — Maria L. Pagan — Executive Office of the President 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Maria L. Pagan, of Puerto Rico, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Geneva Office), with the Rank of Ambassador)". US Senate. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
Political offices Preceded byMichael Froman United States Trade RepresentativeActing 2017 Succeeded byStephen VaughnActing Preceded byRobert Lighthizer United States Trade RepresentativeActing 2021 Succeeded byKatherine Tai
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