Stephen Spanos
Summer Internship at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
For my summer internship, I worked with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in the Office of Industries. The USITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides analysis of international trade issues to the President and Congress. I contributed to three projects. I researched value chain challenges to COVID-19 vaccine production in Indonesia and presented my analysis as an Industry Seminar. I also supported the USITC’s development of a firm-level FDI database by identifying ways that firm-level FDI is measured. Finally, I synthesized and graphically conveyed data on content removal requests towards US internet platforms as part of a Commission report on censorship. Through my experiences and mentorships, I improved my analytical and presentation skills. I also learned how public policy is formed and how policy impacts businesses and people around the world.