WASHINGTON, July 9, 2014 -- The Senate today voted by voice vote to approve Darci Vetter as chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office.

Vetter has been serving as USDA’s under secretary for farm and foreign agricultural services. She’ll join the USTR’s office at a critical time, as agriculture issues are on the front burner in negotiations for two major trade treaties, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with 11 other Asian-Pacific nations, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, with the European Union.

Before joining USDA, Vetter served as an international trade adviser on the Democratic staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where she worked on issues relating to agriculture, the environment and labor, including the 2008 Farm Bill and climate change legislation.

Vetter is no stranger to the USTR office. Prior to her work on the Finance Committee, she spent six years there, most recently as director for agricultural affairs. She was responsible for facilitating NAFTA implementation and resolving agricultural trade issues with Canada and Mexico, as well as participating in the World Trade Organization Doha Round negotiations.

Vetter received her Master of Public Affairs degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and her undergraduate degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She grew up in Nebraska on a family farm.

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