Former US. Trade Representative Michael Froman is joining the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a distinguished fellow after eight years in the Obama administration.
Froman, who spent more than three years heading up President Obama’s charge to forge far-reaching trade agreements, will tackle international economic policy, trade and globalization and populism.
{mosads}”We are thrilled to have someone with Mike’s experience and knowledge come to the Council,” said CFR President Richard N. Haass.
“It is difficult to imagine someone better positioned to develop ideas for how best to rethink U.S. trade policy and how to rebuild domestic support for it,” Haass said.
Froman led negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) among a handful of other trade agreements.
During his tenure, Congress approved trade promotion authority, renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and customs legislation that will help improve trade enforcement. He also pursued numerous trade cases, especially against China, at the World Trade Organization.
Froman had hoped to push the TPP through Congress before Obama left office but the election of Donald Trump derailed that long-term effort.
Earlier this week, Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP, raising questions as to how the new president will tackle economic and geopolitical issues in the Asia Pacific.
Many of the 11 nations that are part of the agreement have said they would attempt to salvage the deal, even without the United States.