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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 11, 1996

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ROBERT S. LARUSSA ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR

IMPORT ADMINISTRATION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Mr. Robert S. LaRussa, of Annapolis, Maryland, Assistant Secretary for Import Administration at the Department of Commerce (DOC). Since June 1996, Mr. LaRussa has been assigned as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Import Administration branch of DOC, which is responsible for administering the U.S. unfair trade laws.

Mr. LaRussa previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, a global network strategically located in more than 200 cities worldwide to assist U.S. businesses in their exporting efforts. Since joining DOC in 1993, he has spearheaded numerous export promotion efforts developed to assist small and medium sized companies, including the "Export Mexico" program that won the department's highest decoration, the Gold Medal.

Prior to joining the DOC, Mr. LaRussa worked as an international trade specialist for Representative Sander Levin of the House Ways and Means Committee. An attorney by training and a journalist by profession, he advised on international trade and manufacturing issues during the Clinton presidential transition. Mr. LaRussa also worked as an editor and correspondent for several newspapers and magazines, covered the U.S. Supreme Court and international trade issues as a reporter, and practiced law in Appalachia for a legal services organization. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and the University of Massachusetts. Mr. LaRussa, a native New Yorker, now resides in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Susan Tilberry, and two year old son John.

In the role of Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Mr. LaRussa will lead the DOC effort in administering U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws to ensure a level playing field for Americas' industries in the competitive global market. He will also participate, with the U.S. Trade Representative, in negotiating fair and transparent international rules for antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, and will oversee the implementation of U.S. foreign trade zone laws.

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