ITA Western Hemisphere Graduate Student Intern

The U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration's Office of the Western Hemisphere, is seeking currently enrolled graduate students interested in participating in our unpaid Spring 2027 Internship Program.

We are looking for individuals with strong communication, research, and computer skills and the desire to gain valuable work experience in international trade. Foreign language (especially Spanish or Portuguese) is a plus.

Candidates should be able to commit to working a minimum of 20 hours in-person at the Department of Commerce headquarters in Washington, DC for a 17-week period roughly between January 18 – May 14, 2027. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.

Our Interns support the Office of the Western Hemisphere, with opportunities to work with the Office of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Office of North America.

Responsibilities

• Country-Specific Initiative Support: Work in a ‘floating’ capacity with the various country Desk Officers, Office Directors and Senior Policy Advisor to identify specific country-related initiatives and assist in the execution of the initiatives.
• Research & Analysis: Conduct research and compile data relevant to international trade in the Western Hemisphere. Collect open-source information and knowledge from D.C. area think-tanks. This data will be analyzed and included in several publications regularly produced by the Office of the Western Hemisphere.
• Commercial Diplomacy: Assist Desk Officers with client relations in the development of commercial diplomacy cases. Develop strategies to address challenges U.S. companies are facing in foreign markets, ways to leverage USG resources to encourage the resolution of these challenges.
• Meetings and Seminars: Attend meetings with companies, foreign government officials and the U.S. government interagency. The intern will be expected to prepare reports based on those meetings, including written summaries, key issues and outcomes, and next steps, to be distributed to leadership and staff.
• Briefing Senior Officials: Help Desk Officers prepare background materials and assemble briefing books in support of trade policy missions to the region and draft information memos on regional economic/political/commercial issues on an as-needed basis.

Requirements

Candidates must be currently enrolled graduate students and should be able to commit to working a minimum of 20 hours in-person at the Department of Commerce headquarters in Washington, DC for a 17-week period roughly between January 18 – May 14, 2027. Candidates must be U.S. citizens to apply.