[CTC] A couple more on Katherine Tai selection

Thu Dec 10 06:44:16 PST 2020

Two articles below…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/09/biden-selects-katherine-tai-us-trade-representative/ <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/09/biden-selects-katherine-tai-us-trade-representative/>

Biden selects Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative
By Amy B. Wang and David J. Lynch 
12/9/2020
President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Katherine Tai to be U.S. trade representative, according to three people familiar with the decision.
Tai, who has been the chief trade counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee since 2017, is the lead adviser to Democrats and the committee chairman on international trade issues.
Though she would be making an unusual jump to a Cabinet-level position, Tai is well regarded by both the moderate and liberal wings of the party and is backed by prominent lawmakers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). A group of 10 female House Democrats led by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.) and Judy Chu (Calif.) wrote Biden last month backing Tai as “uniquely qualified” for the job.
Tai would also be the second Asian American woman to be named to a Cabinet-level position under Biden. Her planned selection comes after members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and several advocacy groups met with Biden’s transition team this week to express their growing concern that there would be insufficient Asian American representation <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/asian-americans-biden-diverse-picks/2020/12/07/88ac96b8-374d-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_7> in top-tier spots in Biden’s administration.
Along with substantial experience on Capitol Hill, Tai spent seven years as a U.S. trade representative (USTR) attorney specializing in enforcing trade agreements with China. Tai reportedly impressed many Democrats last December while negotiating with Trump officials for stronger labor provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“She impressed the hell out of them in the USMCA negotiations,” said one person familiar with Tai’s candidacy.
Lori Wallach, who heads Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, praised Tai for “an encyclopedic knowledge of trade” — particularly on trade with China — and her “top-notch political skills.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee on trade, described Tai as knowledgeable, patient and creative.
“I’m sad to lose her from our committee staff, but she will more than make up for it with what she will bring to the USTR — a vital agency that affects us all,” he said in a statement.
Tai will require Senate confirmation, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged Republicans to quickly do so next year.
“Her record of getting wins for American workers demonstrates she knows how to champion the values that matter to U.S. families,” Wyden said. “She worked closely with me and my staff to craft the strongest-ever protections for American workers in a trade agreement, and pass them into law with bipartisan support.”
Tai, who is Chinese American, would be the first woman of color to hold the job. Tai graduated from Yale University and earned her law degree from Harvard Law School. She spent two years teaching English at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou as a Yale-China Fellow.
Normally a low-profile outpost, the position of chief trade negotiator became one of the Trump administration’s most consequential jobs. Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, an experienced trade attorney, was the intellectual muscle behind President Trump’s “America First” sentiments, driving a protectionist revolution in U.S. policy.
With the USTR’s help, Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum along with much of what Americans import from China. Lighthizer, a fierce critic of the World Trade Organization, hammered out new agreements with South Korea; Mexico and Canada; and China. But he failed to achieve Trump’s goal of narrowing the U.S. trade deficit and left many U.S. allies irritated by his uncompromising stance.
Biden has said he plans no early reversal of the Trump tariffs, though that could come later. He also plans investments in infrastructure, education and manufacturing before seeking new trade deals. And he has proposed a $400 billion “Buy America” initiative, which could require renegotiating some existing accords.

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Politico Morning Trade

— President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to nominate House lawyer Katherine Tai for USTR is being cheered by Hill Democrats and even some Trump administration veterans.
...

DEMS EFFUSIVE AT TAI PICK: Hill Democrats and even some Trump White House veterans are gleeful at the news — first reported by POLITICO <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe4718aa53373ee0d296387c6ba33d01b41a8319e8892e4c9b25d5b3611a3ba39ea7029f6c2a79cbe6fe> — that Biden is set to announce Tai as his pick for USTR.

Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe4720bdaee78abef581619513e7874c23ba2414a98691004e195419f4bab2e71dfb654770ff74e26686> (D-Ore.) called it an “inspired choice.” House Ways and Means Oversight Chair Bill Pascrell <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47b4538ce86b0e8e671adee6756dc0b94d38218947e2139bd978c8bcb249bd35a552f3571c1ef89c3b> (D-N.J.) called Tai a “brilliant, forward-looking and strategic thinker.” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47848b19f88302da1c57b75ffb65229f8da965b22ae1f365de605a94ae8c4538e39f50bcadd445e40e>(D-Ore.), who co-led a letter of 10 women House members advocating Tai for the role, said her diplomatic skills and trade expertise “have earned her the respect of Congress, labor and environmental leaders, and the trade community at large.”

None of this should come as a surprise, since we told you last month  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47e3797d84832b51cbe390bbd4b9445e86f25e8add80bbfb38c896192d5c3d0d9c38669b50328b2fb2>that Democrats in both chambers were coalescing around Tai as a pick that could placate both moderates and progressives and prove acceptable to industry, environmentalists and labor unions alike.

Tai’s case was helped considerably by Democrats’ slim five-vote margin in the House, making it more difficult to pull members out for White House roles. That situation only solidified this week when Biden decided to name <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47184857ce0e304bc530f5c062ac8c62102745c4e9d6a8344eed914a5e225b93a44c8e1c891a296631> Rep. Marcia Fudge <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47207a2809dc05e47f726a840ecdebe36842a368c2384ddc2dc726abbedfd85c415b174532e772b7dc> (D-Ohio) to head Housing and Urban Development.

Those dynamics all but doomed Rep. Jimmy Gomez <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47a0f3c776fd26d12a147ecb2051b23a4f6b6a81205b12365222387058c6fb5f3ea9947238cc9f1673> (D-Calif.), another finalist for the role. Tai herself actually recommended him for the role as part of a list of potential USTR picks she gave the transition this spring, according to a source familiar with the selection process. Gomez spoke to the transition about the role in May, but his chances dwindled after the election.

GOP support for “superstar” Tai? Congressional Republicans have so far been mum on the expected nomination, and USTR declined to say whether Lighthizer has called Tai to congratulate her. But her backers have said from the start they expect her to garner some GOP support in the Senate, and at least one Trump administration veteran said Republicans respect her knowledge and experience.

“I’ve worked with Katherine for years, she’s a superstar,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, former deputy director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration. “She’s smart, tough and an exceptional negotiator. She’s also incredibly well-respected on both sides of the aisle — no small feat in the current political climate.”

“She knows the issues better than almost anyone else out there,” added Shaw, now at law firm Hogan Lovells, “which will give her a significant advantage in defending U.S. trade interests on the global stage.”

HOUSE DEMOCRATS SLAM USTR’S ECUADOR PLAY: House Ways and Means Democrats on Wednesday scolded Lighthizer for failing them to keep them fully informed about talks that led to the signing of a mini trade deal with Ecuador <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47323de1f4aeb902c1ef80d8eafc2cc7b6b9198ac89e416e5c3bdc11ef0861bb7e2717f1317851be7d> on Tuesday. 

“The administration’s failure to adequately consult with Congress is particularly concerning given that the entirety of the negotiations took place after the U.S. presidential election, which raises additional concerns about the process and motivations behind this negotiation,” Chair Richard Neal <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47ad1f4286e2298b5aff4eeb72bff93df024844fe402179e36e680e4648db3ced0190b58854ee2e9a5> (D-Mass.) and 21 other panel Democrats said in a letter to the U.S. trade chief. <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ddf0bf042969fe47dfcd548acb191bd336ae1ad79d9ad54cd0617e8b9fa51a0ad18e7672e27d78410c5b6c57cb6f19d4>
The Democrats raised a number of issues they said should have been addressed in any agreement with Ecuador, including labor and human rights, the country’s indebtedness to China and concerns around deforestation and harmful fishing practices.

Ecuadorian officials hope the new agreement will lead to more comprehensive agreement, although any such deal would be up to the incoming Biden administration to pursue. Still, the Democrats called on Lighthizer “to immediately engage with Congress to develop a negotiating strategy that effectively responds to the key issues in the U.S.-Ecuador relationship.”

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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