Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch on Tuesday arrived at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry at Vanijya Bhawan in Delhi. The Lynch-led US team is in India to resume discussions with India's chief negotiator and Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal, along with other officials on the bilateral trade agreement. The trade talks were originally scheduled to be held from August 25 to August 29; however, they were postponed. The discussions have now resumed.
Who is Brendan Lynch?
Brendan Lynch is the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. In this role, Lynch oversees the development and implementation of United States trade policy with regard to 15 countries in the region, including management of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF. He also looks after coordination of activity under Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) with regional partners.
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Previously, Lynch was the Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. He managed negotiations in the region across sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, services, and intellectual property rights. Earlier, he served as the United States Trade Representative (USTR)'s Director for India, where he managed the bilateral trade relationship with India.
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Lynch initially joined USTR in 2013 and served in the agency’s Office of Agricultural Affairs. In this position, he promoted US agricultural trade interests in a variety of international for a and managed bilateral negotiations related to agriculture with countries in the South and Central Asia region as well as Taiwan, Israel, Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Russia.
Before joining USTR, Lynch was posted in an important role, serving as an International Trade Analyst at the US International Trade Commission. There he provided economic analysis of free trade agreements and advised Congressional committees and USTR on trade barriers affecting US exports in key sectors and markets. He has a B.S. from Boston College and received his M.B.A. from George Washington University. Lynch holds a B.S degree from Boston College and has an M.B.A. degree from George Washington University.