Senate Confirms USTR Staffer to Serve as Ambassador to WTO

The Senate voted March 10 to confirm Maria Pagan as deputy U.S. trade representative in USTR's Geneva office to serve as an ambassador to the World Trade Organization. Pagan joined USTR's staff in 2003, rising to deputy general counsel and aiding the agency across multiple administrations on a host of trade agreements and negotiations. Before joining USTR, Pagan was an attorney adviser in the Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce at the Commerce Department. During her confirmation hearing, Pagan said that reforming the WTO's Appellate Body is a top priority since the body's "overreaching has shielded China's non-market practices and hurt the interest of U.S. workers and businesses" (see 2111300063). She was confirmed by an 80-19 vote, with Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., not voting.