U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai released a readout of her Aug. 12 talk with South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, in which she said they discussed supply chain resiliency collaboration, tackling climate change and reform of the World Trade Organization.
Two longtime career staffers at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have been nominated for deputy USTR positions. Maria Pagán, the deputy general counsel at the agency, has been chosen to serve as ambassador to the World Trade Organization. According to an announcement from the White House, Pagán handled the implementation package for USMCA and was the lead lawyer in the USMCA negotiation. USTR Katherine Tai said, "María Pagán has proven to be a shrewd negotiator with an unparalleled knowledge of our trade agreements that will serve the United States well as we re-establish relationships with our trading partners and work to reform the World Trade Organization."
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Washington state farmers Aug. 5 that she wants to make sure agricultural exporters "can bring your products to new markets and new customers," and that she is holding trading partners accountable for their commitments, such as improved dairy access in Canada and opening Mexico to American fresh potato exports. Tai was visiting the district of Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democratic leader for free trade and a House Ways and Means Committee member. This followed a similar visit last month to Rep. Ron Kind's district in Wisconsin, where she had the same message to farmers. Kind, too, is a prominent Democrat supporting free trade and a Ways and Means member. In June, Tai visited Flint, Michigan, home to Rep. Dan Kildee, a Ways and Means Democrat who always talks about how trade devastated manufacturing workers in Flint. She heard from workers who told her how trade had affected them.
An annual survey of U.S. firms with operations in China that are members of the U.S.-China Business Council found that about 80% of firms said that U.S.-China tensions affected their businesses. Of that group, about half said it caused lost sales in China; about a quarter said they lost sales due to Chinese retaliatory tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai discussed export promotion and other trade issues during the inaugural Industry Trade Advisory Committee meeting Aug. 2, Commerce said in a readout. The two officials outlined President Joe Biden’s export agenda to ITAC members and committed to “removing barriers to trade, developing an inclusive and sustainable growth strategy, and using the private sector’s expertise to enforce existing trade agreements.”
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told an audience at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit that she wants to meet with her African counterparts later this year "to discuss how we can build on the successes of the African Growth and Opportunity Act." The meeting will be virtual, she said. She said she wants to talk about anticorruption, good regulatory practices and labor and environmental standards with other top trade officials. "As we continue to develop our trade policy with respect to Africa, I also want to hear from businesses, civic organizations, labor leaders, and workers. There are far too many communities that have been left out from trade, labor, and development policy that was enacted without their input," she said in a speech July 27. She also offered technical assistance to countries implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Mexico's Economy Secretary, Tatiana Clouthier, said she talked about Mexico's concerns about the auto rules of origin with the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the ranking members of that committee and of the Senate Finance Committee, two other Republican senators, and four business groups, including two auto manufacturing trade groups, as well as a major aerospace manufacturer.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced on July 22 the hiring of:
The U.S. will join World Trade Organization negotiations on strengthening transparency and fairness in domestic licensing procedures for service professionals, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced July 20. The WTO Joint Statement Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation (DR JSI) negotiations should be wrapped up by the WTO ministerial meeting in November, USTR added. The DR JSI in particular can aid industries such as retailing, express delivery and financial services, the release said. USTR also pointed to the improvements to transparency and due process introduced in the USMCA that will be expanded upon in regulations under negotiation.
World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said there is now political support to move forward on an agreement to curb subsidies that lead to overfishing. The draft text has been blessed by all the heads of delegations in Geneva, she said in a news conference July 15.