USTR Names New Ambassador To WTO; Ag Negotiator

Two officials have been appointed to the Office of the United States Trade Representative: Michael Punke as deputy USTR and permanent representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, and Isi Siddiqui as the new chief agricultural negotiator.

Punke was previously a senior policy advisor in the USTR on agriculture and intellectual property, and was the White House director for international economic affairs, both in the 1990s, according to a USTR press release. He is also the author of several books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Siddiqui comes from a career in the private sector, and was previously vice president for science and regulatory affairs at agricultural biotechnology firm CropLife America. He was also previously vice president for agricultural biotechnology and trade, also at CropLife, and worked for the US Department of Agriculture during the Clinton administration and more recently for the US Department of Commerce’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Health/Science Products & Services.