J. Robert Vastine, Jr. is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Raw Materials Policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Previously, he was Chief Counsel to the Minority for the Senate Committee on Government Operations and was the Washington Representative for CPC International, Inc. Mr. Vastine began his career as a Research Assistant in the International Department of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before becoming an Economic Assistant to Congressman Thomas B. Curtis (R-Mo.), and then a consultant for the Emergency Committee for American Trade, where he created a presence for the Committee in Washington and brought its influence to bear to defeat restrictive trade actions.