Carla Hills was sworn in as the 10th U.S. Trade Representative, becoming the first woman in that role and first person to hold both Cabinet and Cabinet-rank positions.
On November 1, 1989, Carla Anderson Hills was sworn in as the 10th United States Trade Representative under President George H.W. Bush, achieving a historic milestone as the first woman ever to hold this Cabinet-rank position. Contemporary accounts also credit her as the first person in American history to be appointed to both a full Cabinet position (HUD Secretary) and a Cabinet-rank position (USTR), a distinction that underscored her exceptional career trajectory.
As USTR, Hills became the chief architect and negotiator of American trade policy at a pivotal moment in global economic history. She would go on to lead U.S. negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which reshaped trade relations between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and played a central role in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, which eventually led to the creation of the World Trade Organization.
Her tenure was marked by tough, effective negotiating tactics that earned her the nickname "Cassidy" (after the gunslinger) in trade circles for her willingness to threaten retaliatory tariffs to open foreign markets to American goods, particularly in disputes with Japan and China over intellectual property rights.
This appointment cemented Hills's legacy as one of the most influential women in the history of American economic diplomacy and international trade policy.