THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      June 16, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES STEPHEN KOPLAN AS CHAIRMAN AND DEANNA OKUN AS

                             VICE-CHAIR OF
                THE U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

     President Clinton today announced the designation of Stephen Koplan

as Chairman and Deanna Okun as Vice-Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission. This designation will be effective June 17, 2000.

Commissioner Stephen Koplan, of Fairfax, Virginia, has served on the International Trade Commission since July of 1998. Prior to this appointment, he served from 1996 to 1997 as Director of Governmental and Conservation Affairs for the Safari Club International. From 1993 to 1995, he was a Principal with the law firm of Bayh & Connnaughton. He was Vice-President for Governmental Affairs at Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Inc. from 1988 until 1993 and a Principal with the McNair Law Firm from 1985 through 1988. From 1979 until 1985, he served as Legislative Representative for tax and international trade issues with the AFL-CIO. Commissioner Koplan earned a B.A. from Brandeis University, a J.D. from Boston University, and a L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University Law School.

Commissioner Deanna Tanner Okun, of Paul, Idaho, was appointed to the International Trade Commission in December of 1999. From 1993 until her appointment to the Commission, she served as counsel for international affairs to Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK). Prior to her work with the Senator, Commissioner Okun was an associate attorney and member of the International Trade Group at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan and Hartson. Earlier in her career, Commissioner Okun was a research associate specializing in trade policy at the Comparative Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Commissioner Okun earned a B.A. from Utah State University and a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent, bipartisan, quasi-judiciary agency that serves as an impartial fact-finding and analytic body and provides objective and independent analyses of a wide range of international trade issues. The scope of the ITC's authority has been gradually increased to include additional miscellaneous advisory and investigative functions. The ITC is also responsible for administering U.S. trade law remedies and determining if U.S. industries are entitled to relief. In addition, the ITC makes recommendations to the President about such issues as imposing quotas or tariffs.

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