Christopher A. Padilla
Encyclopedia
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
. He was nominated to this position on September 4 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2007. From 2002-2008, Christopher Padilla worked within the Bush administration with a focus on international trade and economic issues. On September 29, 2006, he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration by the U.S. Senate.
From 2005 to 2006, he had served as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, with a particular focus on U.S.-China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
policy, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and international economic matters. From 2002 to 2005, Padilla was Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison, and he was heavily involved in building support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and several other trade agreements and initiatives.
Before working for the American government, Under Secretary Padilla held several international positions at AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies
Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., originally Lucent Technologies, Inc. is a French-owned technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs...
, including marketing, business development, and government affairs. Later, he was Director of International Trade Relations at Eastman Kodak Company. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Information Technology Industry Council, the Council of the Americas, and the U.S.-India Business Council, and is a member of the Economic Club of Washington.
Commerce Department Positions
As Under Secretary, Christopher Padilla advocated for passage of Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, and for conclusion of the Doha Round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization. He traveled to Central America, China, Southeast Asia, Korea, and South America in support of trade initiatives. In January 2008, he gave a speech at the Center for Strategic and International StudiesCenter for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
calling for continued U.S. economic engagement with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.