WASHINGTON – President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to announce Gina M. Raimondo, governor of Rhode Island, as his secretary of commerce, an important economic position, given the agency’s critical role in everything from technology policy to change climate and promotion American industry, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Ms. Raimondo, a moderate Democrat with experience in the financial sector, has served as governor since 2015. She is seen as a relatively traditional choice for secretary of commerce, a position that oversees relations with the business community, but also regulates technology and monitoring of the climate and the collection of economic data, among other attributions.
Biden was considering several high-level chief executives for the position, as well as the possibility of nominating a Republican. In choosing Raimondo, Biden’s team opted for a rising star in the Democratic Party with experience in government and finance.
As governor of Rhode Island, Ms. Raimondo introduced training programs, cut taxes and eliminated regulations to support companies. She came into conflict with the unions, but ended up finding an agreement by reformulating the state’s pension plan.
Before applying, she was a founding employee of the investment company Village Ventures, which was supported by Bain Capital, and co-founded her own venture capital firm, Point Judith Capital. Ms. Raimondo has a law degree from Yale University and obtained her doctorate from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes scholarship holder.
As secretary of commerce, Ms. Raimondo will control an agency that was at the forefront of an economic struggle with China during the Trump administration.
An extensive agency with nearly 50,000 employees, the Commerce Department used its vast power to restrict Chinese companies’ access to the American market and technology. Through the Bureau of Industry and Security, it imposes limits on the type of goods the United States can export and has taken punitive measures against Chinese telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE. Its National Telecommunications and Information Administration helps to set standards for global technology companies, while the International Trade Administration charges tariffs on unfair or subsidized foreign products.
His responsibilities also include areas that should be central to the Biden government, such as economic promotion, becoming a potentially powerful force in the type of industrial policy that is increasingly adopted in Washington. The department promotes business in the United States abroad through the Foreign Trade Service, and at home, providing subsidies for strategically important businesses through the Economic Development Administration.
The Commerce Department also contains the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for monitoring the climate and managing American fisheries, becoming a potential participant in Biden’s hopes of slowing climate change.
Under the Trump administration, the Commerce Department also received new authority to try to combat currency manipulation by foreign countries, charging tariffs on imports when foreign governments weaken their currencies. It is unclear how aggressively Biden will use this tool, although several of his economic advisers seem sympathetic to the idea that currency levels have hampered American exports and the economy.