Punke Nominated As U.S. Representative For The WTO

The White House said President Obama intends to nominate Michael Punke to be U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Not having someone in this slot has threatened to slow world trade talks, the White House said.

Punke would take over for longtime U.S. trade diplomat Peter Allgeier, who stepped down as ambassador to the WTO. Punke began his government career in 1991 as international trade counsel to Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat who is currently chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He was a senior policy adviser in the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in the mid-1990s, after a two-year stint in the White House under former President Bill Clinton.