Staff
Shawn Arita, Senior Economist
Shawn Arita serves as a Senior Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington DC. In his role he conducts economic analysis and advises the Chief Economist and senior officials regarding the economic effects of various trade policy issues, ongoing events in global commodity markets, and other areas affecting the U.S. farm economy. He performs economic modelling on policy issues of interest for U.S. agriculture and has conducted model-based assessments as needed by USDA programs such as the MFP and CFAP programs as well as arbitration of WTO trade dispute cases.
Sharon S. Sydow, Senior Economist
Sharon Sydow is a Senior Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE). In OCE, her focus is on providing economic analysis of agricultural trade policies and market developments. She began her career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1991 at the Economic Research Service (ERS), where she was hired as the grains and oilseeds analyst for the Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, her research focused on agricultural trade and policy reform in Russia and other former Soviet countries.
