Doug McKalip (far left) at the USA Rice trade fly-in last month
Jun 13, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, President Biden announced plans to formally nominate Doug McKalip to the role of chief agricultural negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). This critical political position is responsible for the majority of agricultural discussions with trading partners around the world.
McKalip is in his 29th year of federal service as an agriculture policy leader and trade expert. Since March 2021, he has served as senior advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on all agricultural matters relating to trade, national security, animal and plant health regulations, and a wide portfolio of domestic and international issues. McKalip formerly served in a leadership capacity in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Biotechnology Regulatory Services. Prior to his role at APHIS, McKalip served in a number of advisory roles throughout the Obama Administration.
In a statement, USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai said: “USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator will play a pivotal role in maintaining and building on these successes on behalf of America’s workers, farmers, ranchers, and producers. Doug McKalip is a highly qualified nominee with decades of experience in public service. His institutional knowledge of USDA spans multiple administrations, from leading different offices to serving as trusted advisor to Secretary Vilsack, and will help us continue the close collaboration between our agencies that has enabled so much success.”
The USTR’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator has the rank of ambassador, requiring confirmation through the full Senate and the Senate Finance Committee.
“We look forward to supporting Doug’s quick confirmation by the Senate so that he can continue engaging with the U.S. agriculture industry in this new role,” said Bobby Hanks, rice miller and chair of both USA Rice and the USA Rice International Trade Policy Committee. “We met with Doug during a visit to Washington last month and were impressed by his knowledge and engagement on trade and domestic supply chain issues, particularly the rail freight issues we’ve been hammered by in recent years.”
In September 2021, the Biden Administration had nominated Elaine Trevino for the position but a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing was never scheduled, and Trevino was withdrawn from consideration.
“We’re counting on Doug to lead efforts within USTR to hold China accountable for their two agricultural losses at the WTO and to initiate a dispute settlement case against India’s domestic supports for rice,” Hanks added.