Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker swore in 27 new officers for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and one new intellectual property attache for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during a ceremony last week.The Commerce Department said in an announcement posted Friday that 14 officers will work overseas, nine have received assignments at domestic field offices and five will work in Washington.
Among their duties are to match potential business partners, reduce barriers to trade, protect intellectual property rights and attract foreign investments to the U.S.
Commerce said their backgrounds cover both government and private-sector work in fields such as energy, pharmaceuticals, financial services and consulting.
Undersecretary for International Trade Stefan Selig, Assistant Secretary and Director General of Global Markets Arun Kumar and USPTO Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs Shira Perlmutter also attended the swearing-in ceremony.
