7-3 FB Food Ambassador

What does the chief US agricultural negotiator who is an ambassador do on a daily basis?

Islam A. Siddiqui, Chief Agricultural Negotiator with the rank of the ambassador at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, recently visited Boise as a keynote speaker.  Ambassador Siddiqui is responsible for bilateral and multilateral negotiations and policy coordination regarding agricultural trade. That’s a lot of big words for a simpleton like me so I thought I would get to the bottom of the issue by calling him up. Listen in. “Hi David, this is Islam A. Siddiqui. I ambassador how are you? I’m fine. This is a beautiful day. Welcome to Boise. Thank you very much. What is a day in the life of the Chief Agricultural Negotiator like? What do you do? A lot of  my time is spent on the road trying to handle the challenges we face in agricultural exports whether it be caused by the finding of the BSE cow in California, reacting to actions of trading partners or attending meetings or negotiating sessions with our trading partners so I think it’s a trade, trade, trade every day. The goal is to figure out how we can increase agricultural exports around the world and I think we have done a great job in the last 3 years.”