Office of Aerospace and Automotive Industries
Automotive Team
Room 4036
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20230-0001
202-482-0554

Henry Misisco - Office Director
email:henry.misisco@mail.doc.gov

Thomas Sobotta - Automotive Team Leader
email:thomas.sobotta@mail.doc.gov
• Senior Policy Advisor
• Assists the Office Director on all managerial and administrative functions
• Coordinates USG policy development and implementation for U.S.-Japan automotive issues

Elizabeth Couch
email:elizabeth.couch@mail.doc.gov
• Monitor auto parts industry issues in Europe, the ASEAN region, and China.
•Serve as the office's contact for automotive-related counterfeiting issues.
• Automotive-related Worker Education/Training issues.
• Provide industry input for Commerce's automotive-related trade promotion events, such as Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week.

Scott Kennedy
email:scott.kennedy@mail.doc.gov
• NAFTA and Security and Prosperity Partnership
• U.S. - Korea Free Trade Agreement and the 1998 U.S.-Republic of Korea Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Regarding Foreign Motor Vehicles
• Motor vehicles lead on WTO

James R. McElroy
email: james.mcelroy@mail.doc.gov
• Lead officer on automotive parts issues with Japan/Framework talks.
• Lead officer on auto parts remanufacturing industry issues.
• Lead auto parts officer on the G-8 3Rs Initiative (Reduce waste, Reuse and Recycle).
• Review Foreign Trade Zone applications for Foreign Trade Zone Board.
• Monitor auto parts industry development in Korea and India.

Elena Mikalis
email: elena.mikalis@mail.doc.gov
• Lead officer on Standards.
• Monitor technological innovations.
• Monitors ASEAN countries.

Forrest Nielsen
email:forrest.nielsen@mail.doc.gov
• Prepare critical data and economic analysis essential for trade negotiations and policy development.
• Designated Federal Officer for the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Automotive Equipment and Capital Goods (ITAC-2).
• Prepare the monthly trade data on auto parts trade with key trading partners.
• Lead author on the U.S. Automotive Parts Industry Annual Assessment.
• Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (MTBs) and Committee on Foreign Investment in United States (CFIUS) reviews.
• Monitor auto parts industry in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Andy Parris
email:andy.parris@mail.doc.gov
• Geographic responsibility for auto parts industry developments in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America.
• Lead analyst for North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) auto parts trade issues.
• Lead auto parts analyst in Western Hemisphere free trade agreement negotiations, including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
• Regulatory review.
• Alternative Fuels.

Todd Peterson
email:todd.peterson@mail.doc.gov
• Japan and U.S.-Japan Automotive Consultative Group
• Additional geographic responsibility for China, Russia, the NIS and India
• Division's Quickfacts Coordinator
• Primary analyst for APEC Automotive Dialogue

Joanne Roberson
email:joanne.roberson@mail.doc.gov
• Geographic responsibility for Latin America and Western Europe [EU].
• Team lead on Regulatory Issues and FTAA negotiations.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues.
• Maintains motor vehicle industry production data base.

Jeffrey Williams
email:jeffrey.williams@mail.doc.gov
• CAFE/Climate Change.
• Health Reform.
• Tort Reform and Tax Policy.
• Trade Barriers Report.