Former U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier joined C&M International, Ltd. (CMI) as President on September 8, 2009, after nearly three decades at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where he was a negotiator on nearly every major U.S. trade initiative since the Carter Administration. C&M International is the international trade and investment consulting firm affiliated with Crowell & Moring LLP.
From 2001-2009, Ambassador Allgeier served as Deputy USTR, nominated for this position by President George W. Bush. He served as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland from October 2005 until August 2009. He also was appointed Acting U.S. Trade Representative during two transitions, from February through April 2005 and from January through March 2009.
Ambassador Allgeier joined USTR in June 1980 as an international economist dealing with Asia, serving in 1981 as Director for Japanese Affairs. Between 1981 and 1985, he served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Asia and the Pacific. In 1985 U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter appointed him Assistant USTR for Asia and the Pacific. In 1989 U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills appointed him Assistant USTR for Europe and the Mediterranean. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor appointed him Associate U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere in 1995.
During his career at USTR, Mr. Allgeier has conducted major negotiations with countries throughout Asia, Europe (including the former Soviet Union), the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as multilateral negotiations in the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and its predecessor organization, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). These negotiations have included: free trade agreements, elimination/reduction of foreign tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods and services; bilateral investment treaties; improvements in foreign laws governing patents, trademarks and copyrights; government procurement; removal of foreign export subsidies; and treaties normalizing U.S. trade and investment relations with the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
In 1988 President Reagan presented him with the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, which is the highest performance honor bestowed on career federal officials. He also is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and the Woodrow Wilson Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Prior to joining USTR, Mr. Allgeier was an international economist with the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). He also was a Visiting Instructor of Economics at Duke University. Mr. Allgeier graduated cum laude from Brown University, with an A.B. in international relations. He earned a Masters Degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He has a Ph.D. in international economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also was a Rockefeller Fellow at Harvard Divinity School.
Mr. Allgeier was born in Orange, New Jersey. He is married to Marsha Uehara of Honolulu, Hawaii. The Allgeiers have two sons.