Bryan O'Byrne

Bryan O'Byrne

Chief of International Affairs and Trade Policy
U.S. Small Business Administration

Bryan O’Byrne serves as Chief of International Affairs and Trade Policy at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In this capacity, he helps ensure U.S. small businesses are afforded expanded export market opportunities through negotiated trade agreements that reduce or eliminate barriers that disproportionately impact small business. Mr. O’Byrne serves as lead U.S. delegate from SBA in U.S. trade policy development and negotiations worldwide, including the NAFTA 2.0 negotiations with Canada and Mexico. Mr. O’Byrne has over 25 years of experience in international affairs and served on more than 30 U.S. delegations to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN/FAO), and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has also led multi-stakeholder policy initiatives in each of the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), as well as with Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and Argentina. Mr. O’Byrne has considerable experience engaging regulators, trade officials, and private sector stakeholders in constructive dialogues, forming consensus around common policies, and successfully identifying practical international solutions. Prior to joining SBA in 2015, Mr. O’Byrne served as a Senior WTO and Multilateral Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He also served as International Agreements Advisor at NASA Headquarters; as staff on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress; a fellow at the U.S. Advanced Medical Technology Association (Tokyo); and a lecturer of political science and international affairs at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies (Japan). Mr. O’Byrne earned an M.A. in international economics and finance from Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto, Japan), an M.A. in international relations from University of Maryland (College Park), and a B.A. in political science; modern languages from Wheaton College (Illinois).



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