House Ways and Means Committee chief trade counsel Katherine Tai was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. trade representative on March 17, by a 98-0 vote. Politicians from both parties, trade skeptics and export-focused trade associations all hailed her promotion to the Biden administration Cabinet. She is the first woman of color to be USTR.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 8-14:
The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said he and the committee chairman have not discussed whether renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill is going to have to wait for an infrastructure package to move. “I know [Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)] and MTB are very much on the radar,” Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told reporters on a March 12 conference call. “We just haven’t gotten a signal about the timing there. Really the COVID stimulus has sucked up all the oxygen at this point.”
The Biden administration is emphasizing the need to fight forced labor and exploitative labor conditions, as well as using trade to fight climate change, in the first Trade Agenda published since President Joe Biden took office.
Across dozens of pages of written answers to Senate Finance Committee members, U.S. trade representative nominee Katherine Tai often avoided directly answering questions, instead pledging to work with senators on their priorities. One of the most common questions posed to Tai was whether she would renew Section 301 exclusions that expired last year; as well, whether she would allow companies that were denied exclusions another chance at a request; and whether she would reopen the exclusion process.
U.S. trade representative nominee Katherine Tai said that despite the president's prioritizing of the domestic economy, “I don't expect, if confirmed, to be put on the back burner at all.” Tai, a veteran of the House Ways and Means Committee trade staff, faced largely friendly questioning over a more-than-three-hour hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 25.
Thompson Hine trade attorney Dan Ujczo expects the only activity on trade in the first eight months of Joe Biden's presidency will be on issues either so small that they don't make a splash -- such as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program -- or on issues that have an immediate need for action.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has warmly endorsed Katherine Tai to be U.S. trade representative. In a letter sent Feb. 23, Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant said her experience at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and as chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, is invaluable. “She combines policy acumen, negotiating experience, and political savvy,” he wrote. “While one important aspect of USTR’s mission is to address unfair trading practices, the previous Administration’s dramatic expansion in the application of tariffs contributed directly to a manufacturing and agriculture recession well in advance of the [COVID-19] pandemic, and this experience illustrates the perils of an excessive reliance on tariffs. The next USTR must avoid the use of tariffs as a blunt instrument, and must avoid inaction on trade agreements as well,” he said, adding that Tai understands that.
The Coalition for GSP, which argues for renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, recently published an estimate that importers saved $879 million utilizing the GSP program in 2020. That covered $17 billion in imports. The group said that imports and savings were down from 2019 due to participating country terminations and the COVID-19 pandemic.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Feb. 8-12 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.