Industry Trade Advisory Center

Industry Trade Advisory Committees Engage Business in Developing U.S. Trade Policy

The Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) are a unique public-private partnership. They are jointly managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR). ITACs engage business leaders in formulating U.S. trade policy.

 As part of the USTR-led trade advisory committee system, the Department of  Commerce and USTR co-administer fifteen ITACs and a Committee of Chairs.  Recommendations regard trade barriers, negotiations of trade agreements and implementation of existing trade agreements that affect industry sectors. The committees also perform other advisory functions relevant to U.S. trade policy matters.

U.S. Government policy makers rely on our trade advisors to identify barriers and to provide advice on key objectives and bargaining positions. This advice covers multilateral, bilateral, and regional trade negotiations, as well as other trade-related policy matters. As a result of these efforts, the United States is able to display a united front when it negotiates trade agreements with other nations. The United States’ negotiating position is strengthened because its objectives are developed with bipartisan, private-sector input throughout the negotiations. 

Commerce and the USTR created the Industry Trade Advisory Committees to jointly administer the work of fifteen ITACs, a Committee of Chairs, and over 300 industry executives. The fifteen ITACs were created to reflect the manufacturing and services sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as issue-oriented matters that cut across all sectors.