<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-crapo-and-bipartisan-senate-finance-committee-members-raise-concerns-about-process-to-approve-and-implement-indo-pacific-trade-pact-and-other-trade-agreements" class="">https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-crapo-and-bipartisan-senate-finance-committee-members-raise-concerns-about-process-to-approve-and-implement-indo-pacific-trade-pact-and-other-trade-agreements</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><span class="date black" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Barlow Condensed", sans-serif; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">DECEMBER 01,2022</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""></span><div class="contactinfo" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 22px;"><h3 class="presscontact" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.4; color: inherit; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 36px;" class="">Wyden, Crapo and Bipartisan Senate Finance Committee Members Raise Concerns about Process to Approve and Implement Indo-Pacific Trade Pact and Other Trade Agreements</span></h3></div><h2 class="subtitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-size: 22px; font-style: italic; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Congress, Not the Executive Branch, Possesses Constitutional Authority To Approve Trade Agreements Under Article I, Section 8</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">Washington, D.C.</span> – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and 19 bipartisan members raised Constitutional concerns about the process to approve and implement the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), as well as the need for the administration to increase consultation and transparency. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class="">In a letter to President Biden, the members noted that they support efforts to strengthen ties with allies in the Indo-Pacific and address issues like strengthening supply chains, growing American jobs and expanding digital trade. However, they reminded the administration that Congress holds ultimate responsibility for approving trade pacts, regardless of whether they include tariff reduction or market access provisions.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">“There is no question that comprehensive free trade agreements that include reciprocal tariff reductions and dispute resolution mechanisms must be approved and implemented by Congress,”</span>the members wrote. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">“However, there appears to be a misunderstanding as to whether an agreement like IPEF, which aims to regulate foreign commerce and reshape international trade flows, requires similar approval. It does.”</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class=""></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class="">While neither the administration nor Congress has announced a process to approve and implement IPEF, Finance Committee leaders urged the president to engage in robust consultation with Congress, transparency of negotiations and collaboration with Congress on how the agreement should be approved and implemented. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class="">The letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Bob Menendez, D-N.J., John Thune, R-S.D., Tom Carper, D-Del., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Todd Young, R-Ind., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 40px; font-family: Newsreader, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; line-height: 34px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "times new roman", times; font-size: large;" class="">Read the full letter <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/letter-to-potus-on-ipef-authority-final-12122" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(17, 159, 151); cursor: pointer;" class="">here</a>.</span></p><div class="">======</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0px 12pt; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt; background-color: white;" class="">Finance leaders, most members: IPEF requires congressional approval</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0px 12pt; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">Inside US Trade, December 1, 2022 at 3:31 PM<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity requires congressional approval, the leaders and most members of the Senate Finance Committee told President Biden on Thursday.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-ID) joined with 19 panel members from both parties in sending Biden <a href="https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2022/dec/wto2022_0864a.pdf" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2022/dec/wto2022_0864a.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1670014192142000&usg=AOvVaw0QgM0YkdbUOCNz2l7LifUa" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">a Dec. 1 letter</span></a> asserting congressional authority over trade agreements – even those that, like IPEF, are not comprehensive deals focused on market access.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">“There is no question that comprehensive free trade agreements that include reciprocal tariff reductions and dispute resolution mechanisms must be approved and implemented by Congress,” the letter states. “However, there appears to be a misunderstanding as to whether an agreement like IPEF, which aims to regulate foreign commerce and reshape international trade flows, requires similar approval.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">“It does,” the senators contend.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The signatories – 13 Republicans and eight Democrats – say they support the administration’s efforts to “strengthen our bonds with our allies in the Indo-Pacific and look forward to better understanding your plans to tackle 21st century issues like digital trade and the strengthening of supply chains; your objectives in the clean and fair economy pillars; and the ways in which these efforts might support U.S. workers and U.S. jobs.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">However, they add, the Constitution “establishes a careful balance of authority between the Executive and Legislative branches. In no place is this balance more apparent than international trade. The Constitution provides Congress with sole authority ‘to lay and collect … duties’ and ‘to regulate commerce with foreign nations,” while the President is vested with the ‘power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties.’”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The senators note that executive agreements that administrations say do not require congressional approval have become more common in recent years – and, as Finance has “discussed” with prior administrations, its leadership and many members believe “the use of sole executive agreements to reshape trade relations confuses the implementation of an agreement – which may not require congressional action because no domestic laws need to be altered – and the ability to enter into a binding agreement with other sovereign nations without congressional approval.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">They list three ways in which the U.S. can join an international agreement: The invocation of the Constitution’s Treaty Clause; a congressional-executive agreement that must be approved by a majority of both houses of Congress; and an executive agreement “covering matters reserved by Article II of the Constitution to the President.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">A “significant binding trade agreement” doesn’t qualify as a sole executive agreement, the letter continues.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">Recognizing that “neither the Administration nor Congress has taken a definitive position on the process for approving and implementing the proposed IPEF,” the senators ask that Biden ensure three requests are heeded.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The first is a familiar refrain: The administration must engage in “robust” consultations with Congress. Many lawmakers across many administrations have made similar pleas, and members of both parties have <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/173976" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insidetrade.com/node/173976&source=gmail&ust=1670014192142000&usg=AOvVaw3mmoWgoS1lFzZQx8ff4PiB" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">called for more</span></a> from Biden’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on IPEF and other agreements.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">“Given that IPEF will address novel issues not included in previous trade agreements and be led in part by agencies not involved in trade negotiations, consultation must exceed even that required by the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA 2015) to build bipartisan support for any final agreement,” the letter states. USTR leads the IPEF trade pillar; the Commerce Department steers the other three.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The second request is for more transparency with stakeholders and the public on IPEF and other initiatives. One of the signatories of the letter, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), has <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/175554" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insidetrade.com/node/175554&source=gmail&ust=1670014192142000&usg=AOvVaw0TnwUVHXopg3cWV0g7FoPQ" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">placed a hold</span></a> on the administration’s nominee for USTR chief agricultural negotiator as a means of forcing the administration to engage in talks on transparency, particularly his long-standing push to establish a USTR inspector general.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">USTR has repeatedly insisted it has engaged in robust consultations with Congress and taken steps to ensure transparency on IPEF and other initiatives.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">In a statement to <em class=""><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Inside U.S. Trade</span></em>, USTR said “The Biden Administration takes its commitment to transparency seriously and respects the role Congress plays in the development and implementation of U.S. trade policy. Even before the IPEF was launched in May 2022, this administration held briefings with Members of Congress and relevant committee staff to provide updates and solicit feedback. We will continue to hold briefings and share information as negotiations continue.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">The final request in the letter is that Biden “ensure that your Administration works with Congress to arrive at a common understanding of the appropriate submission, approval, and implementation mechanisms for such a broad-based and important agreement regulating international commerce.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">IPEF countries will gather for their first in-person negotiating session in Brisbane, Australia, on Dec. 10. All 14 members of IPEF joined three of the four pillars; India opted out of the trade pillar.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: black;" class="">An administration official said Wyden, the Finance chair, is sending staff members to Brisbane who will be briefed on the negotiations as they progress. -- <em class=""><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Dan Dupont</span></em> (<a href="mailto:ddupont@iwpnews.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">ddupont@iwpnews.com</span></a>)</span></p></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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