WASHINGTON - Rep. Charles Boustany has set his sights on chairmanship of a trade subcommittee - a job he says would be a perfect fit for Louisiana.

"I'm working to be one of the leaders in the House on trade policy," Boustany, R-3rd District, said in a recent interview. "I've been doing my homework."

Boustany, serving his fifth term, currently chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which sets tax policy. He recently chaired an oversight hearing on how the Internal Revenue Service handled the 2014 tax season.

Boustany's term heading the oversight panel will end in January, and he's made it clear in recent weeks that he's interested in taking the helm of the Ways and Means panel on trade, where he's now a member.

The subcommittee's current chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., plans to seek the chairmanship of the House intelligence committee.

"It is essential to the economy of the district and jobs," Boustany, dean of Louisiana's House delegation, said of trade. "Our state... ranks seventh in exports. We have a number of major ports. The oil and gas sector and the agriculture sector are both very tied to international business and trade. We have manufacturing, ship-building... I can't think of another district in the country more tailor-made to participate in international trade."

Louisiana, a major oil- and gas-producing state, is home to Cheniere Energy's new liquefied natural gas plant. Boustany and other Louisiana lawmakers support expanding the search for liquefied natural gas in the U.S., saying it could create thousands of jobs in Louisiana and other states.

Pearson Cross, head of the political science department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said chairmanship of the trade subcommittee "would be a strong move for him into a policy area that could pay dividends for Louisiana."

"Right now Louisiana is poised to become even more important in the exportation of liquefied natural gas," Cross said. "There's a whole world market there (for) Louisiana goods... Trade is something this state understands, particularly the southern part."

Boustany said his seniority on the Ways and Means Committee -he ranks eighth among the 23 Republicans - should help his campaign to run the trade panel.

"Whatever happens, as a senior member of the committee that deals with trade policy and the subcommittee that deals with it, I'll utilize the knowledge base I picked up and represent the district," he said

Boustany said he also has a personal interest in trade, which he called "fascinating policy."

Local officials are enthusiastic about the prospect Boustany will chair the subcommittee.

Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, called the panel "very important" to the state, and said heading the panel would help Boustany's relations with other key committee chairmen.

"It can have influence in many different ways on issues that could be important to Louisiana," Briggs said.