Texas, USA (CU)_ Indian-American trade specialist Arun Venkataraman has been nominated by the US President Joe Biden to a top post in his government relating to foreign commercial service. According to the statement from the White House on Wednesday, Arun Venkataraman has been nominated for the post of Director-General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets, Department of Commerce.
Arun Venkataraman is a global trade diplomat graduated from Columbia Law School with a JD and holds an MA in Law and Diplomacy from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a BA from Tufts University. He began his career as a law clerk in the US Court of International Trade for Judge Jane A Restani. Arun Venkataraman is now serving as the Counselor to the Secretary of Commerce, guiding the department on trade and other global economic topics. He has more than 20 years of experience counseling businesses, foreign organizations, and the US government on international trade platforms.
Previously, Arun Venkataraman served as a senior director at Visa before entering the Biden-Harris administration, where he oversaw global government engagement strategy on a variety of international policy topics such as the digital economy, trade, tax, and sanctions. He has also worked at Steptoe & Johnson LLP as a trade and investment policy counselor, where he offered advice to multinational corporations and other organizations on e-commerce, intellectual property rights, and US and international trade regulations.
Under President Barack Obama, Arun Venkataraman served as the first-ever Director of Policy at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, where he assisted the US government with solutions to important challenges encountered by businesses in the country and around the world, including China and India. He also headed the development and implementation of US-India trade policy as Director for India while serving at the office of US Trade Representative (USTR). He was honoured with the agency’s Kelly Award for his excellent performance and remarkable leadership skills.
While working as the associate general counsel, Arun Venkataraman also represented the US in World Trade Organization (WTO) lawsuits and international trade agreement talks. Arun Venkataraman worked as a legal officer at the World Trade Organization (WTO) before entering the USTR, helping the organization in solving a variety of issues posed in trade dispute appeals between countries.
