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.Meanwhile, the multilateral approach promises to create a more level playing field across the globe: that means an easier life for U.S.business, and more trade globally.But it also takes much longer than the bilateral approach.And time is not on the U.S.' side.And the U.S.does not exercise unilateral control of the process or outcome.All the signs are that the extraordinarily complicated game of Doha is more likely to end in stalemate than checkmate.And if that is the case, the Bush administration may have to settle for excelling at checkers.U.S.Trade Representative Rob Portman Combines Politics With TenacityU.S.Trade Representative Rob Portman is a politician accustomed to accomplishing things that others think impossible.During his six terms in the House of Representatives, the Ohio Republican was known for taking on ambitious projects that his fellow Congressmen wouldn't touch.For instance, he launched a crusade to reform the Internal Revenue Service, a bureaucracy many of his colleagues believed beyond repair.Yet Portman succeeded, helping to pass the first comprehensive reform of the tax agency in 50 years.It's the sort of perseverance that will serve Portman well in his role as United States Trade Representative.This is particularly true as he attempts to broker a major World Trade Organization agreement following more than four years in which global trade talks have gone nowhere fast.Portman was appointed last April to succeed Robert Zoellick, who President Bush moved over to the State Department to be Condoleezza Rice's deputy.The 50-year old Portman is no stranger to U.S.trade policy.Early in his career, he was a lawyer specializing in international trade at the prestigious Washington law firm Patton Boggs.In the House, he served on the influential House Ways and Means Committee's subcommittee on trade, where he emerged as a vocal supporter of free trade, despite representing a state that has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs to foreign competition.But Portman's most important qualification for his new job may have been his close ties to President Bush.Portman had been an associate counsel in Bush's father's White House and later served as his chief liaison with Congress.Portman campaigned for Win both 2000 and 2004 (earning the nickname “Robby Bobby” from the president).When he was appointed to the top trade post, Portman told his hometown newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, that he had “a loyalty and allegiance to making [the Bush administration] successful.I have a real commitment to that.”In the past year, Portman has mostly followed the trade strategy mapped out by his predecessor, Zoellick.He has pursued bilateral trade deals with Thailand, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Panama and a dozen other countries, while continuing to press for a breakthrough in the WTO talks.In an attempt to revive those negotiations, he made a major new offer to cut U.S.crop subsidies this October.Portman has also engaged in a number of high profile disputes with the European Union, sparring over everything from European subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus to its continued ban on the import of genetically-modified food from the U.S.And he has pushed China to follow WTO rules, threatening to take Beijing to trade court if it doesn't do more to open its markets and protect intellectual property.When he was in Congress, Portman was known for his ability to reach across the aisle to garner bipartisan support for bills.That's an important skill in a trade rep whom depends upon Congress to approve the deals he negotiates.And so far, Portman has received high marks from his old buddies on Capitol Hill, including from many Democrats.“I think Ambassador Portman has been very open in the way he has been proceeding,” says Rep.Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the same trade subcommittee Portman once did.“He's been reaching out to members on both sides of the aisle and making sure there are no surprises.And he's been very open about the challenges we're facing.”Jeremy Kahn
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