Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environmental and Natural Resources
Kelly K. Milton was named Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural Resources in May 2020, after previously serving as Attaché in the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva and the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs. Ms. Milton oversees all trade and environment issues for USTR, including those related to free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation, monitoring and enforcement; the World Trade Organization (WTO) on trade and environment issues; and trade-related activities under several international organizations and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Ms. Milton is dedicated to promoting the mutual supportiveness of trade and environment, and green growth through open and fair trade and investment policies.
Previously, as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, Ms. Milton led negotiations to address standards and regulation barriers in the European Union that impede market access for U.S. producers of numerous industrial and agricultural goods. Prior to this, Ms. Milton served as Director for International Environmental and Conservation Policy in the Environment and Natural Resources office, where she was the lead environment negotiator for U.S. FTAs and had responsibility for a wide variety of trade and environment policy issues, including lead negotiator on fisheries subsidies in the WTO, wildlife trade and marine fisheries issues, and implementation of environment obligations under U.S. FTAs.
Prior to joining USTR in 2010, Ms. Milton was a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where she worked on implementation of commitments under several MEAs, as well as addressing conservation and sustainability issues through environmental diplomacy.
Ms. Milton holds a Master of Arts degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from University of California San Diego in La Jolla, CA.
