■ T RADE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE ROB PORTMAN WILL NEED TO RELY ON HIS BLEND OF AFFABILITY AND DETERMINATION TO CARRY FORWARD HIS LARGE PORTFOLIO OF TRADE ISSUES. Trade Mission B Y B RUCE S TOKES ■ n early May, only four days after the Senate confirmed Rob Port- man as the new U.S. trade representative, he Iflew to Paris for talks with trade ministers from other leading trading nations about a uniform method of measur- ing agricultural tariffs. Trade ministers generally don’t bother themselves with such arcane details, but the stalemate on this key point had held up the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations for months. To make matters worse, the Japan- committee, rose to speak. He joked that, although he had ese, the Swiss, and others were threatening to block an moved up in the pecking order, from Congress to the Cabi- emerging compromise because they felt that the “big boys”— net, he was still a peon compared with Chairman Thomas. “It including the United States and the European Union—were broke the ice in the room,” recalled one business lobbyist in making decisions without consulting them. attendance. “It created a good feeling that Portman under- When Portman arrived, one observer recalled, “the Hong stood the process [that Congress has the ultimate constitu- Kong trade minister said, ‘Get in the room or this will fall tional authority on trade]. And it showed that he knew apart.’ Portman looked everyone in the eye, was straightfor- Thomas’s strengths and weaknesses, and could play to them.” ward, honest, and said he would talk to anyone about their These two vignettes, nearly three months apart—one on concerns. The whole tone of the meeting changed. It was not the world stage and one within the clubby confines of Capitol the big, bad bullying United States. He calmed everyone Hill—capture the uniformly positive reaction, at home and down.” The ministers reached a tariff deal, and the Doha abroad, to Portman’s appointment. All of those who have Round was back on track. worked with him—trade experts, business lobbyists, foreign Fast-forward to a day in late July. Congress was preparing to trade officials, and even congressional Democrats—praise the vote that night on the Bush administration’s controversial 14th U.S. trade representative as a smart, hard worker, a per- Central American Free Trade Agreement. The House GOP sonable man who is a terrific listener. These are all qualities leadership was hosting a final strategy session in Room HC-5 of that Portman will need in spades if he is to rebuild bipartisan the Capitol. Anxiety was high. It was unclear whether House support for trade in Washington. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., “Rob Portman is the right person at the right time,” said who had crafted the implementing legislation, had the votes. Mickey Kantor, President Clinton’s first trade representative, Portman, who until April had been a member of Thomas’s who, like Portman, inherited both an unfinished regional 3186 NATIONAL JOURNAL 10/15/05 trade deal and an unfinished multilateral agenda—and who “He got dealt a very tough hand with CAFTA,” acknowl- thinks that Portman’s congressional background will prove edged a Democratic House aide whose boss opposed the invaluable in wrapping up those negotiations. “If I had trade agreement. “As many cards as could have been stacked designed someone for this job at this time, I would have against him, were. And the fact that he took the lead and got designed him,” Kantor said. it through Congress was a real testament to his skill.” Nevertheless, some people have qualms about Portman, “And he did it without leaving a lot of wounds,” said Clay- a former six-term Ohio congressman, who had no real ton Yeutter, a former U.S. trade representative who is now of public profile on trade issues before he was chosen to suc- counsel at Hogan & Hartson. “In fact, he may have healed ceed Robert Zoellick, President Bush’s first USTR and a some wounds with Congress. That was an excellent begin- highly respected trade strategist, who is now deputy secre- ning for him.” tary of State. Moreover, said Frank Vargo, a vice president at the Nation- “Portman is the John Roberts of the trade world,” quipped al Association of Manufacturers, “he got the president involved to a degree the president hadn’t been MANNIE GARCIA/GETTY IMAGES (LEFT); AP/EUGENE HOSHIKO involved before. He was brilliant on CAFTA.” Yet for all the good vibes surrounding Port- man’s handling of CAFTA, the deal still gar- nered only 15 Democratic votes, hardly a sign of budding bipartisanship. “It was tough to convince many Democrats to come over,” Portman admitted in an interview with National Journal. (See box, p. 3188.) “But I think we made some progress in reaching out to Democrats and dealing with some of the parti- san feelings out there, so that the next agree- ment will be a little easier.” “A lot of people think he’s a nice guy,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. “And he treats members of Con- gress with respect, while many in Congress really did not like USTR Zoellick. But neither his good congressional relationships nor his dogged CAFTA lobbying schedule seemed to have made much of a difference. CAFTA passed AT THE WHITE HOUSE: only after it was reframed as deciding whether Portman seems to have the ear of President Bush would be a lame duck in his sec- President Bush, something he will ond term’s first year. And that is politics above need as he faces a host of thorny the pay grade of any USTR.” issues, particularly the growing one European diplomat. trade deficit with China, whose “It’s a short record, with lit- MR. CONGENIALITY commerce minister, Bo Xilai, met with Portman in July. tle to go on.” Foreign gov- No discussion of Portman—be it with his acquaintances or ernments, in particular, are his adversaries—gets very far without some comment about anxious to hear more about his affability and low-key demeanor. A veteran of more than a Portman’s vision: What compromises is he willing to make to decade of Washington trench warfare, he seems, somehow, conclude the Doha Round? How does he intend to deal with to have made few enemies. Moreover, in an administration China? What are his plans for more bilateral or regional free- that has developed a reputation for arrogance, Portman is trade agreements? And at home, Thomas and other conserv- known for his responsiveness. “The guy actually listened and ative Republicans are skeptical that Portman, even with all of comprehended and was sympathetic to what an industry his people skills and close ties on both sides of the aisle, can faced,” said one veteran trade lawyer who recently pleaded a woo congressional Democrats back into the free-trade camp. client’s case before Portman. It’s a tall set of challenges, and over the next two years, the But colleagues caution that the USTR’s congeniality trade stakes will be unusually high. should not be confused with a lack of tenacity. “He is very much results-oriented,” said Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin of CAFTA Maryland, who worked with Portman on pension reform in Portman, 49, could not have taken the USTR post under 1997. “When focused, he is incredible in not taking no for an less auspicious circumstances. Lacking the votes to pass answer.” CAFTA, the White House had long refrained from sending Still, in an era of embittered and deepening partisan divi- implementing legislation to Capitol Hill. When a decision sions in Washington, Portman is known for his commitment was finally made to roll the dice and seek a vote last spring, to bipartisanship. As a congressman, Portman was more con- Portman was to be the croupier. servative than two-thirds of the House of Representatives, Even before his confirmation, he was working the halls according to National Journal’s 2004 vote ratings. Although he and hideaways on Capitol Hill—listening, cajoling, cut- was the GOP House leadership’s designated liaison with the ting deals. administration, he was not part of the hard-line conservative 10/15/05 NATIONAL JOURNAL 3187 circle surrounding then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, lishment of a bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill in support R-Texas. Rather, the representative from Cincinnati earned a of trade liberalization.” reputation for reaching across the aisle and endeavoring to A USTR that can get along with Capitol Hill would be an build bipartisan coalitions for legislation, a strategy he contin- invaluable asset for the White House. But Congress most ued with CAFTA. respects, and fears, Cabinet members who have clout within “Rob Portman was indefatigable in trying to work with the administration. Democrats on CAFTA,” Thomas said. “He was willing to Portman worked in the Bush 41 White House, so he knows spend countless hours listening to and talking to Demo- many of the Bush 43 players. During the campaign to pass crats”—a kind of backhanded compliment from a chairman CAFTA, he used that experience and those personal connec- who seldom has had much time for such efforts. tions to bridge the communications gap between Capitol Hill Portman still has to deliver on a number of the deals he and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. cut in order to win CAFTA votes. And some, such as a “I think he knows how to [translate] the needs of his for- promise to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., for more funding mer fellow Hill types into language that the White House can to enforce labor rights, may prove difficult to fulfill.