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Robert Lighthizer

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Robert Lighthizer
Official portrait, 2017
18th United States Trade Representative
In office
May 15, 2017 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyJeffrey Gerrish
C.J. Mahoney
Dennis Shea
Preceded byMichael Froman
Succeeded byKatherine Tai
1st United States Deputy Trade Representative
In office
April 15, 1983 – August 16, 1985
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Robert Emmet Lighthizer

(1947-10-11) October 11, 1947 (age 77)
Ashtabula, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children2
EducationGeorgetown University (BA, JD)

Robert Emmet Lighthizer (/ˈlaɪthaɪzər/; born October 11, 1947) is an American attorney and government official who was the U.S. Trade Representative in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.

After he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973, Lighthizer joined the firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. He left the firm in 1978 to work as chief minority counsel and later staff director and chief of staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance under Chairman Bob Dole. In 1983, Robert Lighthizer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for President Ronald Reagan. In 1985, Lighthizer joined the Washington office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a partner and led the firm's international trade group. On January 3, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Lighthizer as his U.S. Trade Representative. Lighthizer was confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2017, by a vote of 82–14.

Lighthizer was an architect of American trade policy during Trump's first presidency. A protectionist and a trade skeptic, his policies are oriented toward protection of manufacturing in the United States. Lighthizer played a key role in the administration's renegotiation of NAFTA and the United States' trade war with China. Many of these trade policies have been preserved, and in some cases extended, by the Biden administration.[1]

Early life and education

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Lighthizer was born on 11 October 1947 to Orville James and Michaelene Lighthizer in Ashtabula, Ohio, where his father practiced medicine.[2] He attended Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, and later graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969 and a Juris Doctor in 1973.[3]

Career

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Lighthizer greeting President Ronald Reagan in 1983

After graduating from law school, Lighthizer joined Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. as an associate attorney. In 1978, Lighthizer left Covington & Burling to work for Senator Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who at the time was the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee.[4][5] When Dole became Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1981, Lighthizer became the committee's staff director and chief of staff.[4][5][6] While working for the committee, he helped shepherd through President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts and Social Security reform.[7][8] In the 1980s, Lighthizer hired fellow Georgetown Hoya Patrick Ewing as an intern.[5]

In 1983, during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, Lighthizer was nominated and confirmed to serve as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under William Brock.[9] During his tenure, Lighthizer negotiated over two dozen bilateral international agreements, including agreements on steel, automobiles, and agricultural products.[10] As Deputy USTR, Lighthizer also served as vice chairman of the board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.[10]

In 1985, Lighthizer joined the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Skadden) as a partner.[5] He practiced international trade law at Skadden for over 30 years, representing American workers and businesses ranging from manufacturing to financial services, agriculture, and technology.[10] While at Skadden, Lighthizer worked to expand markets to U.S. exports and defended U.S. industries from unfair trading practices. He defended the steel industry in particular.[11]

Lighthizer served in a senior position in the 1988 presidential campaign of U.S. senator Bob Dole. In 1996, he served as the treasurer of the Dole campaign.[12]

18th United States trade representative

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Lighthizer with former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in January 2017

On January 3, 2017, Donald Trump announced that he planned to nominate Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position.[13][14] On January 23, press reports speculated that Lighthizer's nomination might require a waiver of section 141(b)(4) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, due to his brief representation of a foreign government in litigation 25 years prior.[15] In March, White House Counsel Donald McGahn sent a letter to Senate leadership citing a Clinton-era opinion by the White House Counsel arguing that the statute was an unconstitutional limit on the president's ability to appoint his cabinet.[16][17]

At his confirmation hearing, Lighthizer was introduced by former senator Bob Dole and U.S. senators from Ohio Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman. In introducing Lighthizer, Brown said, "Mr. Lighthizer is eminently qualified, as Senator Dole said, for this job. He has a long history of fighting on behalf of American manufacturers, and I would add, American workers."[8]

On April 25, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved Lighthizer's nomination to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative as well as a waiver of section 141(b)(4) of the Trade Act of 1974.[18] Lighthizer was confirmed as the 18th U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, by a margin of 82–14.[19][20] He was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on May 15, 2017.[21]

Three days later, on May 18, Lighthizer notified Congress that President Trump intended to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which would make him the first USTR to renegotiate a major U.S. free trade agreement.[22]

According to multiple reports, Lighthizer became one of the most influential Trump Administration officials and the lead figure in formulating the administration's trade policy.[23][24][25] The reports noted his agreement with Trump on trade issues.[26] Lighthizer played a key role in the administration's renegotiation of NAFTA and the United States' trade war with China.[27][28][29][30]

Policy views

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Tariffs

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Lighthizer has stated that using tariffs to promote American industry was a Republican tenet dating back to the pro-business politicians who established the party.[31] He has called for a "new American System" of trade policy that uses tariffs to offset the United States's trade deficit and restore the manufacturing sector in the United States.[32] In a 2008 op-ed, he also defended protectionism.[33]

Trade agreements

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Lighthizer believes that a good trade agreement must "strike a balance among economic security, economic efficiency, and the needs of working people", and he described the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement he negotiated the "model deal."[34] Speaking at a July 2020 event at Chatham House, Lighthizer stated that bilateral trade agreements and a multilateral system conflict with each other, and that one of those two options should be chosen over the other.[35]

Trade with China

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Lighthizer with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in January 2019

Politico describes Lighthizer as "a decades-long skeptic of Beijing".[26] Lighthizer has accused the country of China of unfair trade practices,[36] and he believes China needs to make substantive and structural changes to its trade policies, as opposed to only minor changes it has offered in the past.[37] He wrote, "The icon of modern conservatism, Ronald Reagan, imposed quotas on imported steel, protected Harley-Davidson from Japanese competition, restrained import of semiconductors and automobiles, and took myriad similar steps to keep American industry strong. How does allowing China to constantly rig trade in its favor advance the core conservative goal of making markets more efficient? Markets do not run better when manufacturing shifts to China largely because of the actions of its government."[36]

In a 1997 op-ed in The New York Times, Lighthizer advocated against allowing China to join the World Trade Organization.[38] He suggested that the U.S. should bring more cases against China for failure to comply with the regulations of the World Trade Organization. In testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2010, Lighthizer said that "USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) should pursue WTO litigation with respect to all such examples of non-compliance. If necessary, Congress should give USTR additional resources to increase its ability."[39] Lighthizer called for reforming the WTO during a testimony to Congress on June 17, 2020.[40]

Domestic manufacturing

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In March 2020, Lighthizer stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the United States must promote domestic manufacturing of medical supplies and reduce its reliance on foreign countries.[41]

Personal life

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Lighthizer lives in Florida. His wife, Cathy, died in 2014.[42] He has two children, Robert and Claire, and three grandchildren.[43]

Lighthizer's brother, O. James Lighthizer, is an American Civil War expert. James Lighthizer was the president of the American Battlefield Trust, a battlefield preservation organization, and a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.[44]

References

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  1. ^ Bade, Gavin (August 4, 2024). "Trump's trade guru plots an even more disruptive second term". Politico.
  2. ^ Clarke, Sara (January 31, 2017). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Robert Lighthizer". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Kranz, Michal (January 18, 2018). "Here's where Trump's cabinet went to college". Business Insider.
  4. ^ a b Rasky, Susan F. (September 30, 1984). "The Steel Trade Negotiations; The Experts Who Will Forge the New Quotas". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b c d Swardson, Anne (January 19, 1987). "Robert E. Lightizer". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "Ronald Reagan: Nomination of Robert Emmet Lighthizer To Be a Deputy United States Trade Representative". Presidency.ucsb.edu. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Shribman, David (April 27, 1983). "RISING WITH A NETWORK OF CONTACTS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Robert Lighthizer, of Florida, to be United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | The United States Senate Committee on Finance". Finance.senate.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  9. ^ "PN189 – Nomination of Robert Emmet Lighthizer for Office of the U. S. Trade Representative, 98th Congress (1983–1984)". Congress.gov. April 15, 1983. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "United States Trade Representative, Robert E. Lighthizer". Ustr.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  11. ^ Peterson, Matt (December 29, 2018). "The Making of a Trade Warrior". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Dole for President Inc – committee overview". Fec.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (January 3, 2017). "Trump Taps China Critic Lighthizer for U.S. Trade Representative". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  14. ^ "The White House". Whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  15. ^ "| InsideTrade.com". InsideTrade.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  16. ^ "Login Redirect Cookie" (PDF). InsideTrade.com. November 26, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  17. ^ "Constitutionality of Statute Governing Appointment of United States Trade Representative". Biotech.law.lsu.edu. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  18. ^ Dupont, Dan (April 25, 2017). "Finance Committee unanimously votes to approve Lighthizer confirmation, waiver". InsideTrade.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  19. ^ "Lighthizer Approval as Trade Rep Paves Way for Nafta Talks". Bloomberg.com. May 11, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  20. ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session". Senate.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  21. ^ "Robert E. Lighthizer Sworn In As United States Trade Representative". Ustr.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "Letter concerning NAFDTA" (PDF). Ustr.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  23. ^ Swan, Jonathan (November 19, 2017). "China hawk Lighthizer Increasingly Influential in White House". Axios. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  24. ^ Swanson, Ana (March 9, 2018). "The Little-Known Trade Adviser Who Wields Enormous Power in Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  25. ^ Davis, Bob (April 6, 2018). "The Architect of Trump's Threatened China Trade War". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  26. ^ a b Restuccia, Andrew; Cassella, Megan (December 26, 2018). "'Ideological soulmates': How a China skeptic sold Trump on a trade war". Politico. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  27. ^ Palmer, Doug (January 4, 2021). "Turn it up to 11: Trump's trade carnage went beyond tariff wars". Politico.
  28. ^ DePillis, Lydia (October 13, 2020). "Robert Lighthizer Blew Up 60 Years of Trade Policy. Nobody Knows What Happens Next". ProPublica.
  29. ^ "We're proud of what we've done, says Trump's trade chief". December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  30. ^ "No Trade Is Free — Robert Lighthizer's lessons from Trump's tariff war with China". Financial Times. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  31. ^ Robert E. Lighthizer (May 9, 2011). "Lighthizer: Donald Trump is no liberal on trade". Washington Times.
  32. ^ Lighthizer, Robert (August 29, 2022). "The New American System: Trade for Workers in the 21st Century". Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  33. ^ Lighthizer, Robert E. (March 6, 2008). "The venerable history of protectionism". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  34. ^ Lighthizer, Robert E. (June 9, 2020). "How to Make Trade Work for Workers". Foreign Affairs. No. July/August 2020. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  35. ^ Lawder, David; Shalal, Andrea (July 9, 2020). "USTR Lighthizer says bilateral trade pacts conflict with multilateral trading system". Reuters. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  36. ^ a b Jennifer Jacobs (January 2, 2017). "Trump Taps China Critic Lighthizer for U.S. Trade Representative". Bloomberg L.P.
  37. ^ Thrush, Glenn (January 1, 2019). "As China Talks Begin, Trump's Trade Negotiator Tries to Keep President From Wavering". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  38. ^ Lighthizer, Robert E. (February 25, 1997). "What Did Asian Donors Want?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  39. ^ Estelle Tran (January 5, 2017). "Steel Industry Cheers Nomination of Lighthizer as US Trade Representative". Platts.
  40. ^ Shalal, Andrea (June 17, 2020). "U.S. trade chief vows to push for 'broad reset' at WTO". Reuters. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  41. ^ "Coronavirus shows U.S. too dependent on cheap medical imports, USTR says". Reuters. March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  42. ^ "Meet Robert Lighthizer: the man who could decide if NAFTA lives or dies". October 27, 2017 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  43. ^ Anne Swardson (January 19, 1987). "Robert E. Lighthizer". Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  44. ^ "Board Of Trustees | Civil War Trust". Civilwar.org. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
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Political offices
Preceded by United States Trade Representative
2017–2021 		Succeeded by
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