<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><div><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" role="presentation" style="padding: 5px 0px 15px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="center" width="540" style="margin: 0px;" class=""><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="max-width: 540px; table-layout: fixed;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; padding: 0px 20px 15px;" class=""></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div dir="ltr" class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" role="presentation" style="padding: 5px 0px 15px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="center" width="540" style="margin: 0px;" class=""><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="max-width: 540px; table-layout: fixed;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;" class=""><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class=""><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">FIRST-TERM DEMS AIM TO SHAPE TRADE TALKS</strong>: The newest House Democrats are pressing President Joe Biden for a larger voice in ongoing trade negotiations and throwing their support behind his efforts to pursue a trade agenda that prioritizes labor rights, environmental protections and domestic manufacturing.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">“From coast to coast, our constituents experience the downsides of past trade policies, which were shaped by and for the largest corporate interests," <a href="https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=227945b004f563d57b80d25c2b55a22bf1e069b77bd5760ba59f3f798c7bd912ee1f43112157100807c43a3bc1cf07032a1978268a2e534f" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs%3D227945b004f563d57b80d25c2b55a22bf1e069b77bd5760ba59f3f798c7bd912ee1f43112157100807c43a3bc1cf07032a1978268a2e534f&source=gmail&ust=1681996145475000&usg=AOvVaw02LwhSeI2tqTfULOoHguKg" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class="">the lawmakers state in a new letter</a>. Those negatives include “broken supply chains,” “job offshoring” and “unfair imports.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">“We must update global and regional trade rules to reflect new climate and geopolitical realities, not allow outdated trade rules and obligations to undermine our wellbeing and security,” the lawmakers write.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">Spearheaded by Rep. <a href="https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=227945b004f563d5d0e273e835a86bbfd3a37b2389715056ab50ff237159e2856287897bacebeeb60550b542787acf44dc636c1a3cae2b26" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs%3D227945b004f563d5d0e273e835a86bbfd3a37b2389715056ab50ff237159e2856287897bacebeeb60550b542787acf44dc636c1a3cae2b26&source=gmail&ust=1681996145475000&usg=AOvVaw1et3m1auygrhOiJu5Slcpb" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class="">Nikki Budzinski</a> (D-Ill.), the letter carries the signature of every Democrat serving in the House for the first time.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class=""><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">What they want</strong>: The lawmakers largely endorse Biden’s trade agenda to date. They support “setting the rules of commerce rather than cutting the few remaining U.S. tariffs” and “efforts to reshape our economy to counter the climate crisis and enhance our reliance and security.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">Those priorities should guide economic initiatives Biden is pursuing in the Indo-Pacific and Latin America and the administration should aim to set higher standards than those enshrined in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that passed with bipartisan support in 2020, they write.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">The deals-to-be should include “facility-specific enforcement” of labor and environmental standards, the lawmakers continue, adding “any new pacts should only go into effect after our trade partners implement these obligations in their law and practice.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">The agreements should also address concerns with data privacy, market consolidation and outsourcing, while preserving the right of Congress to regulate the tech sector. “Digital trade can bring real gains, but a balanced approach that ensures future domestic policy flexibility is integral to safeguarding the public interest,” they write.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class=""><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">What it means</strong>: The backing of the Hill’s freshest faces may not carry the same political heft as more senior members in leadership positions, but their endorsement of Biden’s trade approach comes at a time when it’s receiving little praise elsewhere.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">Trade lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on the administration to pursue a more aggressive strategy — one that includes market access agreements — and have criticized trade officials for ignoring the role of Congress in setting the nation’s trade agenda.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 24px;" class="">That may be where the freshmen and seniors agree: “As your administration implements important new industrial policies and begins negotiations on new trade policies, we respectfully urge you to work with us and our constituents in a transparent and inclusive manner,” the letter states.</p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></body></html>