New Leadership in US Trade in Trump Era
In
the weeks leading up to the inauguration, President-elect Trump has given some
initial signals as to the possible directions of his administration’s trade
policy once in office, announcing plans to set up a new “National Trade
Council” within the White House.
This new White House group would have the role of
advising Trump on “innovative strategies in trade negotiations, coordinate with
other agencies to assess US manufacturing capabilities and the defence industrial base, and help match unemployed workers
with new opportunities in the skilled manufacturing sector.”
Peter Navarro has been named to head this new council. Navararro is an academic whose work has been known for
taking a harsh position on some Chinese trade practices and for criticising the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA).
The National Trade Council would work with the Office
of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which is the specialised
government agency that deals with the negotiation of international trade deals,
the tabling of disputes, and other related duties. Trump has also indicated
that the US Department of Commerce would play a significant role in crafting
trade policy, larger than that seen under previous administrations.
For the post of USTR, the president-elect has nominated
Robert Lighthizer, an international trade lawyer who
was previously a deputy USTR under the administration of President Ronald
Reagan.
Lighthizer
was also a board vice chairman for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC) and has a long history of working on trade remedy cases.
The date of Lighthizer’s
Senate confirmation hearing has not yet been announced. Before his nomination
faces a vote on the full Senate floor, he will first have to undergo a hearing
in the Senate Committee on Finance. The billionaire investor Wilbur Ross has
been nominated to serve as Secretary of Commerce, with his confirmation hearing
held on Wednesday 18 January. Both the posts of USTR and Commerce Secretary are
Senate-confirmable roles.
Testifying on Tuesday, the business magnate told senators
upon questioning that he does not approve of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) Agreement in its final form, raising issues such as automobile
rules-of-origin as problematic. He also noted the potential that tariffs can
have as an enforcement tool, including the use of duties to address allegedly
unfair practices by China or others in the steel and aluminium
sector, as well as to spur trade negotiations forward.
Despite
the political landscape on trade, the United States still needs to assure its
continued role as a “Pacific power,” said outgoing USTR Michael Froman in a speech to the Washington International Trade
Association (WITA) on 10 January.
During his tenure, the US completed trade negotiations
with 11 other countries for the TPP along with kicking off talks for a trade
deal with the EU; a services trade liberalisation
deal with 22 other WTO members; an environmental goods accord with 17 other WTO
members; and an initiative aimed at disciplining harmful fisheries subsidies.
These agreements are in different stages of
negotiation, with the fish subsidies one the most recent initiative.