Indian American Arun Venkataraman Nominated to Prominent Post in Department of Commerce
- The former Obama official has over 20 years of experience advising companies, international organizations and the U.S. government on international trade issues.
President Joe Biden has nominated Arun Venkataraman for director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and assistant commerce secretary for global markets. He currently serves as the Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, he advises the department on trade and other international economic matters.
The White House says Venkataraman has over 20 years of experience advising companies, international organizations and the U.S. government on international trade issues.
Before joining the Biden-Harris administration, Venkataraman was a senior director at Visa, a leading global government engagement strategy on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax and sanctions. Prior to that he was a Trade & Investment Policy Advisor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
He was the first-ever director of Policy at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration under President Obama, where he helped shape the government’s responses to critical challenges faced by firms in the U.S. and in markets around the world, including China and India. While working at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), Venkataraman adviser led the development and implementation of U.S.-India trade policy as the Director for India, for which he received the agency’s Kelly Award for outstanding performance and extraordinary leadership. He also served as Associate General Counsel, representing the U.S. in litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in negotiations on international trade agreements.
He has a JD from Columbia Law School, a Masters in International Economic Law and International Political Economy from the The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a BA in International Relations and French Literature from Tufts.
Additionally, five other individuals were nominated by Biden to serve in key administration roles ā including Brian Nelson for Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the Department of the Treasury, Lisa Brown for General Counsel of the Department of Education and Matt Olsen for Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division in the Department of Justice.