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Name: Schwab, Susan
Current Position: Former Ambassador
Susan C. Schwab served as the United States Trade Representative from June 8, 2006, until the end of George W. Bush's presidency on January 20, 2009. Schwab holds a BA in political economy from Williams College, a master’s in development policy from Stanford University and a PhD in public administration and international business from George Washington University.
Schwab’s first job was as an agricultural trade negotiator in the Office of the US Trade Representative. Then, she served as a trade policy officer in the US Embassy in Tokyo.
Schwab spent most of the 1980s as a trade policy specialist and then legislative director for Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO), playing a major role in numerous US trade policy initiatives, including trade legislation that Congress enacted in 1984 and 1988.
Schwab was then appointed Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US & Foreign Commercial Service during the administration of George H.W. Bush. After that she joined the private sector, serving as Director of Corporate Business Development for Motorola, where she was engaged in strategic planning and negotiation on behalf of the company in China and elsewhere in Asia.
Schwab served as dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy from 1995 through 2003. She also held the position of president and CEO of the University System of Maryland (USM) Foundation and USM Vice Chancellor for Advancement.
Prior to her appointment as USTR, Schwab served as Deputy USTR with a portfolio overseeing US trade relations with Europe and Eurasia, the Middle East and the Americas. In addition, she was responsible for USTR operations involving the World Trade Organization and multilateral affairs; services and investment; intellectual property; industry, market access and telecommunications; and intergovernmental affairs and public liaison activities. Schwab was actively engaged in the development of US strategy in the Doha Round multilateral trade negotiations and successfully concluded bilateral free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
Schwab is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). She previously served on the board of visitors of the US Air Force Academy, board of trustees of the Council for Excellence in Government and the National Selection Committee for the Innovations in American Government Awards program.
Schwab has published articles and a book on US trade policy and legislation (Trade-Offs: Negotiating the Omnibus Trade Act,, 1994), as well as articles on US–Japan trade relations, trade politics and public policy education.