A nonbinding resolution to pursue a free trade agreement with the U.K. passed the Senate through unanimous consent. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, hailed the passage in a May 26 news release. "The United States and the United Kingdom are the closest of allies and the most natural of economic partners. Since the British people have reclaimed the right to negotiate their own trade agreements, I have advocated for a robust trade agreement between our nations. I am overjoyed and encouraged to see the Senate pass this resolution calling for such a mutually beneficial agreement. Free trade between our nations would be good for Britons, for Americans, and particularly for Utahns who have such close economic ties to our friends across the pond," he said.
Almost 40 agricultural trade groups, along with two port and perishable logistics trade groups, asked the U.S. trade representative to reduce, lift or suspend tariffs so that China would lift its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. crops. “Tariff relief could not come at a more important time,” the trade groups said in a letter. “Rural America and small businesses are facing significant challenges due to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, logistical and supply chain disruptions, record levels of inflation, and the increasing impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine. "
The U.S. asked for formal dispute consultations with Canada, as it believes that the federal notice that Canada issued about changes in how it administers dairy tariff rate quotas do not comply with the dispute panel's criticisms.
A half-dozen countries that negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- including two that never ratified it -- and Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India agreed to start negotiating agreements with the United States on trade, supply chains, digital standards, anti-corruption, and tax and investment from the U.S. for decarbonization and infrastructure.
A few days after the majority of senators said they want Taiwan to be included in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (see 2205180034), U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued a readout of a May 20 meeting with a top Taiwanese official that made no mention of IPEF. Tai said she met with Taiwan’s Minister-Without-Portfolio John Deng, and said that they discussed "opportunities to deepen the economic relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, and promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for their workers and businesses." It said they also discussed how Taiwan and the U.S. both want to fight forced labor, and how important supply chain traceability is.
The European Union head of trade in the Washington embassy said that the value of the Trade and Technology Council is less in trying to resolve differences in regulatory approaches and more in trying to prevent new barriers to trade.
Canada published a notice welcoming distributors who do not have an allocation under dairy tariff rate quotas in 2022 to apply for unallocated quotas for industrial cheeses, and said that it no longer has allocation pools dedicated to processors.
Senators said that officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative failed to consult properly before a proposal to make changes to the TRIPS Agreement regarding coronavirus vaccines was released, and that the agency's approach needs to change. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, led the letter, which said: "Administrations of both parties have struggled to comply with the terms Congress has provided to ensure its views are reflected in our trade policy. Accordingly, we request that you take steps to ensure Congress is a full partner in the Administration’s ongoing trade negotiations, regardless of whether the Administration believes any eventual agreement from such negotiations will require formal Congressional approval. To that end, the Office of the United States Trade Representative... must provide Congress with timely, substantive briefings on negotiations and share all U.S. negotiating texts before the Administration commits the United States to a particular negotiating position or outcome."
Heather Hurlburt will be the new chief of staff for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She comes from New America, a left-of-center think tank, where she studied the intersection of political polarization and foreign policy. She replaces Ginna Lance, who was interim chief of staff.
At a joint press conference in Ottawa, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian trade minister Mary Ng did not reveal any agreements on trade irritants, but emphasized that they can work out their differences with the trust they share and the strong relationship between the neighboring countries. It was Tai's first trip to Canada since becoming USTR, and she had a full schedule planned, meeting with small businesses, labor groups, and touring a General Motors facility in Markham, Ontario.