[CTC] Warren, DeLauro call on Trump admin to brief Congress on trade talks, seek input

[Arthur Stamoulis]

INSIDE US TRADE

Warren, DeLauro call on Trump admin to brief Congress on trade talks, seek
input

By Hannah Monicken  / May 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM



The Trump administration is conducting its slew of bilateral trade talks
without sufficient transparency, two senior lawmakers charged on Monday,
calling on the administration to provide more information on the
negotiations to Congress – including the number of partners, the substance
of the talks, and whether the White House will seek congressional approval
for the deals negotiated.



In a May 12 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary
Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) criticized President Trump’s
“reciprocal” tariffs as a “self-inflicted economic disaster” and noted it
remains unclear – even to Congress – what the administration is trying to
achieve in its bilateral talks.



“Congress should end Trump’s disastrous reciprocal tariffs once and for
all, but in the meantime, we must ensure that any negotiated trade deals do
not result in additional economic chaos and corruption or further undermine
Congress’s constitutional authority to regulate trade,” the two lawmakers
wrote. “As the administration officials charged with leading these
negotiations, we ask that you provide additional information on these
talks.”



Accordingly, the letter asks for responses to a series of questions by May
20. Warren, who is a Senate Finance Committee member and ranking member of
the Senate Banking Committee, and DeLauro, ranking member of the House
Appropriations Committee, ask first for a list of countries the
administration is negotiating with as well as the “goals” of the talks and
where they stand.



Additionally, the two lawmakers want more information on the “substance” of
the negotiations and plans for entering into deals – most notably, the
letter asks what “authorities” the administration is using to negotiate and
whether any agreements will be submitted to Congress for approval.



“Are you advocating for policies that prioritize American workers and
consumers rather than corporate profits, including enforceable
environmental and labor standards?” they added.



The letter also focuses on corruption, asking “How will the administration
prevent corruption by sovereign nations and corporate insiders seeking to
influence these trade deals?” Warren and other Democrats have previously
raised concerns about “unprecedented opportunities for companies to
purchase tariff loopholes.”



The letter on Monday specifically asks if the White House will “provide
clarity on any concessions” in potential deals “that may affect entities in
which President Trump or other administration officials, or their families,
have a financial stake?” It also suggests that administration officials
should recuse themselves if there is such a stake and asks whether the
administration will develop “strict controls and disclosure requirements”
for those “with access to key information.”



“These closed-door bilateral negotiations open the door to corruption –
allowing the administration to actively engage with powerful industries,
corporations, or sovereign states to seek quid-pro-quo deals that are
unlikely to benefit Americans broadly,” the lawmakers wrote, citing reports
in April that Bessent, for instance, told Wall Street representatives that
he anticipated a de-escalation with China (which the administration
announced over the weekend).



“In light of this track record, we are concerned that bilateral trade
agreements amount to little more than 75 new arenas in which corporations
can lobby for special treatment and lucrative exemptions,” they added.



Warren and DeLauro, both progressive lawmakers, also say that based on what
information they do have, they are not optimistic that any negotiated deals
will “benefit American workers and consumers, bring back manufacturing,
strengthen supply chains, or reduce the trade deficit.”



“Instead, the agreements are more likely to result in the elimination of
foreign countries’ policies that have long been on billionaire
corporations’ hitlists,” they wrote. The letter argues that USTR’s recent
National Trade Estimate – which Trump has cited as a starting point for
trade barriers the administration is aiming to eliminate – outlines some
policies that are the “foreign equivalent to numerous U.S. bipartisan laws
and policies,” for instance related to competition and small business
investment.



“Using trade deals to classify policies like these as ‘unfair trade
practices’ could have the effect of preempting them in the United States.
Prohibiting the United States from enacting policies that are
pro-competition, pro-innovation, and pro-small business will certainly not
attract U.S. investment or onshore U.S. manufacturing,” they added. “In
light of this risk, it is absolutely critical that Congress ... be
consulted on and approve of any agreements resulting from these
negotiations.”



The administration has announced one deal to date, with the United Kingdom.
The White House over the weekend said it secured a detente with China.
Administration officials also have said they are close to deals with
several others.



“This opacity and uncertainty as to how and when trade deals will be
finalized undermines consumer confidence and discourages investment,”
Warren and DeLauro argued.



The two Democrats also reup what is a key Democratic criticism of the
tariffs – they've been bad for the economy, consumers and, in particular,
for small businesses. -- Hannah Monicken (hmonicken at iwpnews.com)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.citizenstrade.org/pipermail/ctcfield-citizenstrade.org/attachments/20250513/7ccb382d/attachment.htm>