Government 101: What Does the Secretary of Commerce Do?

The Secretary of Commerce is the chief executive of the US Department of Commerce. This cabinet-level department has many duties, including:

• Managing a series of federal agencies: The Secretary of Commerce manages agencies related to patents, weather, national security, and international trade. They also conduct the decennial census.
• Promoting US businesses: The role supports small businesses and also interfaces with the White House to improve competitiveness and growth among American businesses.
• Creating jobs: The role works to enhance private-sector job creation by increasing investment and trade, supporting innovation, and more.
• Overseeing trade: The Secretary of Commerce enforces trade agreements and manages the president’s trade policy.

The president nominates the Secretary of Commerce, who the US Senate then confirms through a majority vote. Some secretaries of commerce hail from the private sector, such as New York businessman Wilbur Ross, who served under President Donald Trump. Others come from the public sector and government, such as Gina Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island and the Secretary of Commerce under President Joe Biden.

Most of the department’s duties lie within the realm of domestic commerce and policy. These responsibilities fall into several categories, such as:

• Telecommunications policy enforcement: The department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) helps enforce telecommunications policies, particularly related to the internet, mobile phones, public radio, public television, wireless radio bands, and aircraft travel.
• Intellectual property protection: Through the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Department of Commerce protects American intellectual property via trademarks and patents. (Note that the Library of Congress administers copyrights, a separate distinction.)
• Data and statistics: The Secretary of Commerce oversees the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA). All of these track various metrics related to economic output and technological efficiency.
• Weather and climate agencies: The Department of Commerce oversees multiple agencies related to the United States’s weather forecasting, satellite services, fisheries, oceanic research, and atmospheric research. These agencies include the National Weather Service (NWS); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; the National Ocean Service; and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
• Aiding the disenfranchised: Through the Economic Development Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency, the Secretary of Commerce can direct appropriations to underserved communities with the goal of promoting growth and responding to economic distress.

The Secretary of Commerce oversees certain elements of the federal government's international trade policy via specific agencies. The International Trade Administration (ITA) promotes US exports in international trade, and it seeks to enforce a level playing field among trade partners. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) enforces US sanctions and embargoes and provides the connective tissue between commercial interests and the United States's national security apparatus.

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