The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday held a hearing on the confirmation of Dr. Julie Callahan to be Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
The committee did not hold a vote. A follow-up meeting of the committee must be scheduled to hold the vote, followed by a subsequent vote on the Senate floor, before Dr. Callahan is confirmed.
“If confirmed, I will work with this Committee, others in Congress, those in the Administration, and all interested parties to craft and implement an agricultural trade policy that promotes fair and reciprocal trade that benefits all sizes and sectors of the agricultural economy,” Dr. Callahan said in her testimony. “If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to achieve the best possible results for your constituents and American farmers, ranchers, fisheries, and food manufacturers across the United States.”
Dr. Callahan currently serves as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy. In this role, she oversees 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.
She previously served as a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative and Senior Director in the USTR Agriculture Office.
Prior to joining USTR, Dr. Callahan held senior leadership positions in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), executing strategic and operational planning, aligning FDA analytical and policy approaches to preempt or resolve regulatory issues that arise in international trade, and promoting U.S. public health objectives in US trade positions, including in World Trade Organization Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade committees, trade negotiations, and free trade agreement implementation. She has also served in the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, and the American Chemical Society.
Dr. Callahan 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.
