Dr. Julie Callahan has been confirmed by the U.S. senate to the role of chief agriculture negotiator. Her counterpart in Canada is Matthew Smith. His background includes director of the multilateral trade policy and institutions division of Global Affairs Canada where he supported the Minister of International Trade in meetings of the G7.

In her previous role of assistant U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy, she oversaw work to promote the interests of U.S. farmers, ranchers and food manufacturers, including oversight of agricultural trade policy development, work to reduce tariff and nontariff barriers to U.S. agricultural exports, negotiation and implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs), and work in the WTO and multilateral organizations on agricultural trade-related issues for USTR.

Her background also includes strategic engagement in UN organizations, EU, UK, Turkey, and Eastern European sanitary and phytosanitary issues and agriculture-related technical barriers to trade. She has held senior leadership positions in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and in the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. She earned her doctoral degree in Marine Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science from MIT.

Source:  Office of U.S. Trade Representative