Jobs at Executive Office of the President - US Trade Representative
Trade Policy Student Intern (Volunteer)
Location: Washington, DC
Type: Temporary
Min. Experience: Student (College)
NOTE - Use the “Apply with Indeed” button to submit your application.
Job Title: | Trace Policy Student Intern (Volunteer) |
Appointment Type: | Temporary Assignment October 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026 Part- Time and Full-Time opportunities are available:
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Announcement OPENING Date: | Tuesday, August 19, 2025 |
Announcement CLOSING Date: | Friday, August 29, 2025 |
Pay and Benefit Details: | No pay or benefits for interns. Interns are eligible to receive Transportation Subsidy benefits. |
Location: | Washington, DC. |
SUMMARY:
The intern program at the Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) offers unpaid volunteer opportunities for students, recent graduates, and veterans to gain knowledge and hands-on experience in U.S. trade policy. Intern responsibilities may include conducting research and analysis, compiling statistics, preparing reports and briefing materials, assisting with meeting and conference planning, drafting correspondence, and attending meetings, hearings, or legislative markup sessions.
WHO WE ARE:
Begin a challenging and exciting career with the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The EOP is comprised of offices, agencies and councils that directly support the President. The Office of the United States Trade Representative is an agency within the EOP established to develop and coordinate U.S. international trade policy. The head of USTR is the U.S. Trade Representative, a Cabinet member, who serves as the President's principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues.
USTR is an agency of more than 200 committed professionals with decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world.
We negotiate directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, to resolve disputes, and to participate in global trade policy organizations. We also meet with governments, with business groups, with legislators and with public interest groups to gather input on trade issues and to discuss the President's trade policy positions.
INTRODUCTION OF TRADE POLICY COORDINATION OFFICE:
This position is located in the Office of Trade Policy Coordination (TPC) in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). TPC plays a foundational role at USTR and leads in executing USTR’s interagency authority in developing and coordinating the implementation of U.S. trade policy. TPC oversees the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), the senior policy official level interagency organization that constitutes the principal mechanism for advising USTR as it develops and coordinates U.S. Government positions on international trade and trade-related investment issues.
USTR is responsible for transmitting to the President and to the Congress the annual President’s Trade Policy Agenda, the Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program, and the National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (jointly “Reports”). These Reports provide the President’s trade objectives for the new year; the actions USTR and the U.S. Government took the prior calendar year to implement the President’s objectives, and an inventory of foreign practices that are significant barriers to U.S. exports and includes actions taken to eliminate those significant barriers to trade. TPC is responsible for the coordination and submission of these three reports.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The intern will assist TPC in editing the three annual reports. The following tasks are illustrative of the work that the intern will perform:
- Review the 65-80 individual sections of each report to ensure they comply with USTR’s editing conventions for the Reports.
- Review the 65-80 individual sections of the Reports to ensure the reporting is consistent among and between them.
- Advise the Senior Trade Policy Advisor when each of the 65-80 sections of the Reports is ready for the Advisor’s review.
- Coordinate with drafters on resolving edits and questions posed by the Senior Trade Policy Advisor regarding any of the 65-80 sections of the Reports.
- Prepare tranches of sections of Annual Report and the NTE Report for transmittal to the TPSC.
- Incorporate the edits in the 80 sections of the Annual Report, as provided, as a result of the review of the Annual Report by the 21 agencies comprising the TPSC; and along with the Senior Trade Policy Advisor decide on whether to consult with the drafting offices and Office of General Counsel (OGC).
- As appropriate, ensure that the drafters of each of the sections of the NTE Report have incorporated edits as provided as a result of TPSC review.
- Review compilations of the Reports for formatting and typographical errors.
- Review print shop proofs of the Reports for formatting and typographical errors.
BENEFITS OF INTERN:
The benefits that the trade policy intern will derive from the TPC internship include, but are not limited to, a full understanding of:
- The President’s Trade Policy Agenda through the editing of the Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program and the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers;
- The important role that TPC plays in developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, direct investment policy, and negotiations with other countries;
- The interagency structure (e.g., TPSC) through which USTR coordinates trade policy, resolves disagreements, and frames issues for presidential decision;
- The important policy roles played by each office at USTR (plus establishing contacts in each office).
The trade policy intern will also benefit from broader exposure to non-legal trade policy issues across the gamut of USTR’s trade agreements program as well as exposure to the sectoral and regional trade barriers in 60+ foreign markets. Finally, the trade policy intern will have an opportunity to engage on the various policy positions of the 21 agencies comprising the TPSC, gaining familiarity with trade policy development and coordination.
Please carefully read the announcement qualifications to determine if you meet the criteria to apply.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT/QUALIFICATIONS:
Program participants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years or older before the first day of the program, and meet at least one of the three following criteria:
- Currently enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program at a college, community college, or university (two- to four-year institution).
- Graduated from an accredited undergraduate or graduate program at a college, community college, or university (two- to four-year institution) no more than two years prior to the first day of the EOP Internship Program.
- A veteran of the United States Armed Forces who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent and has served on active duty, for any length of time, no more than two years prior to the first day of the EOP Internship Program.
Internships will be hosted in person on the White House campus, located in Washington, D.C. Selected Interns will be expected to complete the entire term and must participate fully in all mandatory on-boarding/off-boarding activities. Please note that living accommodations and relocation support will not be provided.
All participants in the USTR Internship Program must undergo a rigorous security review and drug testing prior to the start of the program.
All participants must sign an USTR Internship Program Participant Agreement Form.
The USTR Internship Program supports academic credit requests. While we do not arrange academic credit for you, if your academic institution hosts an academic credit program, we can work with you and your institution to accommodate these actions.
Demonstrated interest and a commitment to public service through schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and previous work or internship experience are beneficial to applicants.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
You must submit a complete application package which includes:
1. Cover Letter
2. Your resume showing dates of employment and duties performed.
A COMPLETE RESUME IS REQUIRED. Your resume must show relevant experience where you worked, job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), and hours per week. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, please ensure you provide the pay plan, series and grade level i.e. GS-0201-09. Note: If you upload more than one resume, the last resume received will be the one utilized for consideration.
3. Other supporting documents (must meet at least one of the three following criteria):
- Currently enrolled in accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program at a college, community college, or university (two- to four-year institution):
- A copy of a current official transcript must be submitted with your application to verify your qualifications.
- Graduated from an accredited undergraduate or graduate program no more than two years prior to the first day of the EOP Internship Program. ***Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years from the date on which the degree or certification was completed.
- A copy of a qualifying degree to include an Associates, Bachelor's, Master's, Professional, Doctorate, OR obtained a Vocational, Technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution, within the previous two years.
- A veteran of the United States Armed Forces who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent and has served on active duty, for any length of time, no more than two years prior to the first day of the EOP Internship Program:
- A copy of your DD-214 and SF-15 forms are required.
Complete application packages must be submitted within this portal by the deadline to be considered for the position.
