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www.amcham.ru/events/high_profile/speakerlist2008/reubenjeffery

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Jan 30, 2008: Reuben Jeffery III, U.S. Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs

On January 30, U.S. Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Reuben Jeffery III met with leaders from American businesses operating in Russia to hear insights on the most pressing issues for U.S. business in Russia. The lunchtime event was chaired by the President of the American Chamber of Commerce, Andrew B. Somers, and held at the AmCham headquarters..

Each of the executives spoke to the Under Secretary about the concerns of American businesses in Russia and the impact of the global economic climate. Some expressed the view that many American companies are already experiencing the effects of a credit crunch, but in terms of lower growth rather than distress. Positive economic trends voiced by the group included the openness of the Russian market and the emergence of clearer rules-of-the-game for foreign investors. On the other hand, the group agreed that inflation and continuing ruble appreciation against the dollar remain causes for concern.

The Under Secretary asked the executives about a wide range of topics including the state of the Russian banking sector, the effect of a credit crunch on the Russian resources sector, developments in electrical energy reform, key areas of Russian industrial activity outside of energy, the extent of the wealth explosion witnessed in Russia over the last decade, and the current level of U.S.-Russia business-to-business dialogue.

Under Secretary Jeffery was upbeat about the level of cooperation and dialogue between the U.S. and Russia on common technical issues, and expressed hope regarding sustainability of the economic successes taking place in Russia.

Nominated by President Bush on April 16, 2007, and confirmed by the Senate on June 21, 2007, Mr. Jeffery was sworn into office by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on June 27. Most recently, Mr. Jeffery was Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that regulates commodity futures and options on futures trading in the U.S. In that capacity he served on the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. Mr. Jeffery spent eighteen years working for Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he was managing partner of Goldman Sachs in Paris (1997-2001) and of the firm’s European Financial Institutions Group (1992-1997) in London. Mr. Jeffery received his BA degree in Political Science from Yale University in 1975 and Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Stanford University in 1981.