The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve Ron Kirk to be U.S. trade representative, three months after President Barack Obama selected him for the position. Kirk—a former mayor of Dallas, Texas—comes to office at a time when world economic weakness has sharply reduced U.S. exports and global trade is expected to shrink this year for the first time since 1982. Kirk told senators he would focus more on making sure other countries follow commitments they have made under existing trade agreements than on negotiating new deals to open markets to U.S. exports. Action on Kirk's nomination was delayed by work in Congress on economic legislation and confirmation hearings for higher-priority positions.
