Section 23A Office of international trade and investment; executive director - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 23A. There shall be within the department of business and technology a Massachusetts trade office, which shall be under the supervision and control of an executive director. The powers and duties given to the executive director of OITI in this chapter and in any other general or special law shall be exercised and discharged subject to the direction, control and supervision of the director of economic development.

The OITI executive director shall be appointed by the director of economic development, with the approval of the governor, and may, with like approval be removed. The OITI executive director shall devote his full time during business hours to the duties of the Massachusetts trade office. The executive director of OITI shall be the executive and administrative head of OITI and shall be responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of law relative to OITI and to any administrative unit thereof.

The OITI executive director shall also serve as the Massachusetts trade representative. The purpose of the Massachusetts trade representative shall be to: (1) serve as the commonwealth’s official point of contact with the federal government on international trade-related matters; (2) work with the executive office of economic development and other appropriate state agencies to analyze proposed and enacted international trade agreements and provide an assessment of the impact said agreements on the commonwealth’s economy; (3) serve as the designated recipient of federal requests for the commonwealth to agree to be bound by investment, procurement, services or any other provisions of international trade agreements, including those which may infringe upon state law or regulatory authority reserved to the commonwealth; (4) serve as a liaison to the general court on matters of international trade policy oversight including, but not limited to, reporting to members of the general court on a regular basis on the status of ongoing international trade negotiations, international trade litigation, and dispute settlement proceedings with implications for existing state laws, state regulatory authority and international trade policy on the commonwealth’s economy.

The trade representative shall, within 30 days of receipt, forward any requests or communications received from the United States Trade Representative relative to any issue of international trade, including requests seeking the commonwealth’s consent to be bound by international trade agreements, to the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, who shall promptly refer the communications or requests to the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies. The joint committee shall, within 30 days of receipt, conduct a public hearing on any request seeking the commonwealth’s consent to be bound by an international trade agreement. The joint committee may issue a report within 120 days of the public hearing including a resolution to the general court relative to the recommendations of the committee on whether the commonwealth should consent to the international trade agreement in question and memorializing the commonwealth’s trade representative and the governor to take appropriate measures within their power to advise the United States Trade Representative of the recommendations of the general court.