Former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Labor Andrew James Samet Joins Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2001

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., one of the world's leading international trade and customs law firms, announced that Mr. Andrew James Samet, former Deputy Under Secretary of Labor for International Affairs, has joined the firm. Mr. Samet brings two decades of experience in law practice, government policy development, international negotiations and program implementation related to international trade. He will be working in the firm's trade and legislative practice, focusing on global labor and corporate social responsibility issues. Ambassador Ronald J. Sorini, former Chief Textile Negotiator of the United States and the firm's President of Trade Negotiations and Legislative Affairs, commented, "Andrew Samet will bring great experience to our expanding legislative and trade policy practice."

Before joining the firm, as Deputy Under Secretary of Labor, Mr. Samet was responsible for all international activities of the U.S. Department of Labor. He worked directly with labor unions, employers, foreign governments and non-governmental organizations in the development of solutions to address international labor concerns. These initiatives include programs dealing with child labor in the garment industry of Bangladesh, the soccer ball and carpet industries of Pakistan, the coffee industry in Central America and ten different sectors in India. Mr. Samet also worked to implement labor standards projects for the garment industries of Cambodia and Haiti, and he worked on the initiative that promoted the Apparel Industry Partnership/Fair Labor Association.

Mr. Samet represented the U.S. Government on the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Among his accomplishments within the organization, he negotiated the 1999 ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor, which was approved by the Senate and ratified by the United States the same year, and the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Mr. Samet headed the U.S. delegation to the annual June conference of the ILO. Mr. Samet was also responsible for the implementation of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the labor agreement that accompanied NAFTA. Mr. Samet represented the Department of Labor at meetings of the OECD and the WTO, including the Singapore and Seattle Ministerials.

Mr. Samet negotiated cooperation agreements between the Department of Labor and counterpart agencies of the European Union, China, Ukraine, Vietnam and Colombia. He also coordinated U.S. policy with regard to labor and human resource issues for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) process, and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. He served on the Board of Foreign Service chaired by the Department of State and the Advisory Committee on International Child Labor Enforcement of the Department of the Treasury, for which he was given an award of appreciation from the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service.

Mr. Samet joined the Clinton Administration in 1993, having served on the staff of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York from 1987, most of that time as the Senator's legislative director. In that capacity, Mr. Samet worked on the 1988 and 1990 trade acts and 1991 fast track legislation, as well as clean air and surface transportation acts. Before joining the staff of Senator Moynihan, Mr. Samet practiced international trade law in Washington, D.C. Mr. Samet has also been appointed to the part-time faculty of the George Washington University Law School, where he will be teaching on international labor standards and the global economy. Mr. Samet received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University. He earned his Master of Arts degree from Carleton University, and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. (ST&R) is an international trade and customs law firm which concentrates its practice in assisting clients in moving goods and personnel across international borders, representing them in international trade disputes and assisting governments in their trade relations with the United States. ST&R has offices throughout the United States -- Miami; Washington, D.C.; New York; Atlanta; Baltimore; Houston; San Francisco; and Chicago -- and in Mexico and Argentina. The company also services its clients through its affiliated consulting company, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., with offices located in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Miami and Portland.