WASHINGTON -- Not many new Cabinet members take office with a deadline of six weeks or so to succeed or fail in their jobs. But that was what Susan C. Schwab faced yesterday when she was sworn in as the new U.S. trade representative.
President Bush praised his new envoy as "a good, hard negotiator." Still, she faces long odds as trade diplomats struggle to salvage a global accord that the Bush administration hopes will be one of its signal economic achievements.
But if trade officials are unable to resolve their fundamental differences by the time of a critical meeting in late July, the failure to achieve a deal could prove a huge disappointment for the White House.
The tight time limit derives from the congressional authority for the United States to negotiate a trade-expanding agreement under the so-called Doha round, named after the city in Qatar where talks began, and then get an up-or-down legislative vote. The authority expires in mid-2007, and it is doubtful that Congress can approve any deal unless the basic framework is established by the middle of this year.
"We are at a critical juncture in a once-in-generation multilateral negotiation," Schwab said in an interview. "We're getting to the point in the Doha negotiations where some very tough decisions have to be made."
Schwab, of Annapolis, is certainly prepared to step into the role. She was a deputy trade representative under Rob Portman, the former Ohio representative who was named director of the Office of Management and Budget in April. At age 51, she has been involved in trade issues in government, business and the academic community all of her career, but is not a well-known figure outside that world.
But some critics say the appointment of Schwab - succeeding a recognized power hitter with close ties on Capitol Hill - was a sign that the Bush administration was scaling back its hopes for a successful Doha negotiation.
"In my judgment, she's first class," said Bill Frenzel, a former Republican representative from Minnesota and now a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution. "But she succeeds a very popular and active trade representative whisked out of his job. I think everyone agrees that the chances of a successful Doha round seem quite limited."
Schwab, not surprisingly, says she sees it differently and appears undaunted by the suggestions that she is not up to the job.
