Who is Indian American Arun Venkataraman - Biden’s nominee to a key position?

US President Joe Biden has nominated another Indian American, Arun Venkataraman, to a key position in his administration. Informing about the decision, the White House said Venkataraman was the nominee for Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets, Department of Commerce.

Venkataraman has over two decades of experience in advising companies, international organisations and the US government on international trade issues. He is currently the Counselor to the Secretary of Commerce, where he advises the department on trade and other international economic matters. Before joining the Biden-Harris administration, Venkataraman was a senior director at Visa.

There, he led global government engagement strategy on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax and sanctions.

The Indian American has also served as the trade and investment policy advisor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he counselled multinational firms and other organisations on e-commerce, intellectual property rights, and US and foreign trade policies, according to news agency PTI.

Venkataraman was also the first ever Director of Policy at the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration under President Barack Obama. During his stint, he helped shape America's responses to critical challenges faced by firms in the country and in markets around the world, including China and India, the White House said.

At the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), Venkataraman led the development and implementation of the US-India trade policy as the Director for India. And for this job, he received the agency's Kelly Award for outstanding performance and extraordinary leadership. The officer also served as the associate general counsel, representing the United States in litigation before the World Trade Organisation and in negotiations on international trade agreements. Before joining the USTR, Venkataraman was a legal officer at the WTO.

Venkataraman began his career as a law clerk for Judge Jane A Restani at the US Court of International Trade. He did JD from the Columbia Law School and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He also holds a BA from the Tufts University.