Lauritsen heads USTR agricultural affairs

Lauritsen heads USTR agricultural affairs    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has appointed Sharon Bomer Lauritsen as the new assistant trade representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy.
   Before joining USTR, Lauritsen served as the executive vice president of the Food and Agriculture Section at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). She also previously served as deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs as well as a senior manager in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service. Early in her career, she was director of government affairs for United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.
   USTR's Office of Agricultural Affairs has responsibility for negotiations and policy coordination regarding agriculture. Responsibilities of the office include free trade agreement and World Trade Organization Development Agenda (Doha) negotiations on agriculture, operation of the WTO Committees on Agriculture and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
   Additionally, the Office of Agricultural Affairs is responsible for agricultural regulatory issues, including biotechnology, animal cloning and customs issues affecting the agriculture industry, monitoring and enforcement of existing WTO and FTA commitments for agriculture, and WTO accession negotiations on agriculture market access.