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News Release 24-057
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
Amy A. Karpel today becomes Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). She succeeds Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, who was serving as Chair by operation of law after David S. Johanson’s term as Chair expired on June 16, 2024. President Joseph R. Biden designated Commissioner Karpel as Chair for the term which will expire on June 16, 2026.
Chair Karpel, was nominated to the USITC by President Donald J. Trump on February 27, 2018; renominated on January 16, 2019, and June 5, 2019; and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2019. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on August 26, 2019, for a term expiring on June 16, 2023.
Prior to her Commission appointment, Chair Karpel spent more than 13 years at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), including as Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation and Administrative Law. While at USTR, Chair Karpel handled a range of international trade matters, including with respect to intellectual property, product standards, labor and environmental protections, and information communications technology.
Prior to her USTR service, Chair Karpel was an associate attorney at the law firm of Stewart and Stewart in Washington, DC. In this role, she represented clients in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings before the USITC and the Department of Commerce. She also litigated appeals before the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Chair Karpel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the University of Washington and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Washington College of Law at American University. Originally from Olympia, WA, she resides in Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter.
The USITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry, violations of U.S. intellectual property rights, or other unfair methods of competition in connection with imported goods; provides independent analysis and information on tariffs, trade, and competitiveness to the President and the Congress; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.