[CTC] Trump administration cancels study on impact of trade on under-served communities

Thu Feb 6 06:40:30 PST 2025

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-cancels-study-impact-trade-under-served-communities-2025-02-05/ <https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-cancels-study-impact-trade-under-served-communities-2025-02-05/>

Trump administration cancels study on impact of trade on under-served communities

By Andrea Shalal <https://www.reuters.com/authors/andrea-shalal/>February 4, 20258:26 PM EST

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday said it had canceled an ongoing multi-year investigation into the impact of trade policy on under-served communities and workers at the request of the Trump administration.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan federal agency told witnesses that it was canceling a hearing on the racial and diversity impacts of trade on Wednesday after the U.S. Trade Representative's office withdrew its request for the broader study. A copy of the email was seen by Reuters.

The agency had planned a total of six virtual hearings on the issue, including separate sessions on persistent poverty in rural areas and urban areas, and had planned in-person conversations in five U.S. cities from March to May.

The ITC and White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, U.S. President Donald Trump has ended all federal work on diversity, equity and inclusion programs with a series of executive orders and memorandums.

Katherine Tai, who served as U.S. Trade Representative under former President Joe Biden, first requested the probe in January 2023, and the agency was slated to complete its report by January 2026.

Arthur Stamoulis, with the Citizens Trade Campaign, which worked to oppose the original North American Free Trade Agreement 30 years ago, said the decision to halt the probe was disappointing but not surprising, given other decisions made by the Trump administration since taking office.

The study was intended to analyze how job losses caused by off-shoring and other supply chain decisions were disproportionately borne by people of color, important information for policymakers, he said.

"Thus far, we have not seen the Trump administration putting workers first and its trade policy is being used to push a really hateful anti-immigrant agenda," he said.

Trump officials have argued that DEI initiatives waste money and often discriminate against white people.

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https://insidetrade.com/daily-news/ustr-withdraws-requests-itc-studies-trade-impacts-underserved <https://insidetrade.com/daily-news/ustr-withdraws-requests-itc-studies-trade-impacts-underserved>

USTR withdraws requests for ITC studies on trade impacts on underserved
By  Margaret Spiegelman <https://insidetrade.com/authors/Margaret-Spiegelman>  / February 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has withdrawn requests made under the Biden administration to the U.S. International Trade Commission for studies on the effects of trade policy on underserved communities and small businesses.
The requests, issued by then-USTR Katherine Tai, reflected a Biden administration focus on making policies – including trade policy – more equitable. They included a series of follow-on probes <https://insidetrade.com/node/176027> that Tai had requested after an earlier report by the commission revealed a lack of data on trade’s effects on underserved communities. In another request <https://insidetrade.com/node/181989> issued late last year, Tai asked the commission to study the distributional effects of trade on U.S. micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, especially those led by women, members of a diaspora, people in rural communities and others in underserved and overburdened communities.
Juan Millán, a longtime USTR official who has been serving as acting USTR since Trump came into office, said the agency was withdrawing its requests for the follow-on probes and the investigation related to MSMEs in a Feb. 4 letter <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2025/feb/wto2025_0080a.pdf> to ITC Chair Amy Karpel.
The letter did not offer details on why USTR was withdrawing its requests. USTR and the ITC did not respond by press time to questions about the letter.
USTR's action comes as other federal agencies move to eliminate a range of initiatives that might be seen as running afoul of President Trump's executive order <https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/> to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In a social media post <https://x.com/citizenstrade/status/1886906082489925910?s=61> on Tuesday, the progressive lobbying group Citizens Trade Campaign shared a partly redacted message from the ITC saying it was canceling a Feb. 5 roundtable <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2024/aug/wto2024_0909a.pdf> on race and ethnicity that had been scheduled in connection with one of the ITC investigations.
CTC’s Arthur Stamoulis told Inside U.S. Trade in an email that the group in early December had inquired with ITC staff about whether the roundtables would continue under the incoming administration. Citing the ITC’s independence, staff encouraged CTC’s continued participation, according to Stamoulis. While one staffer acknowledged to the group that the administration had the ability to withdraw USTR's request, the staffer said the scheduled roundtables likely would not be affected, he added. -- Margaret Spiegelman (mspiegelman at iwpnews.com <mailto:mspiegelman at iwpnews.com>)
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https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/3252861-trade-policy-study-halted-amid-diversity-tensions <https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/3252861-trade-policy-study-halted-amid-diversity-tensions> 
Trade Policy Study Halted Amid Diversity Tensions

The U.S. International Trade Commission, at the Trump administration's request, has canceled an investigation into the impact of trade policy on under-served communities and workers. Initiated by Katherine Tai under the Biden administration, the study aimed to assess how trade disparities affect communities of color. Critics express disappointment over the halting of this important evaluation.

The U.S. International Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it has canceled a multi-year investigation into the impact of trade policies on under-served communities. The suspension comes after the Trump administration's directive, leading the U.S. Trade Representative's office to withdraw its request for the study.

Scheduled virtual hearings and in-person sessions in five cities were part of the now-canceled investigation intended to explore racial and regional economic disparities. Initiated by Katherine Tai during Joe Biden's presidency, the study aimed to complete its report by January 2026.

Critics, including Arthur Stamoulis from the Citizens Trade Campaign, condemned the decision. Stamoulis noted the significance of understanding trade-induced job losses for policymakers, especially those affecting communities of color. The Trump administration's stance has been perceived as prioritizing an anti-immigrant agenda over workers' welfare.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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