Robert Lighthizer Confirmed as USTR by Senate

The US Senate confirmed Robert Lighthizer to serve as the next United States Trade Representative (USTR), approving the international trade lawyer’s nomination with a final vote of 82-14.

Lighthizer, a former deputy US trade representative who served in the Reagan administration, has spent the last few decades working for a New York-based law firm on a host of trade cases involving industrial and agricultural goods. Lighthizer gained bipartisan support from lawmakers, and was confirmed unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee last month.

Despite being confirmed by a large margin, Lighthizer also faced questions from some lawmakers, including within the Republican Party, about his planned trade approach, in a potential indication of debates to come.

For example, Senators John McCain of Arizona and Ben Sasse of Nebraska both expressed concerns in a joint statement last week that the incoming trade official did not “understand” the national benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), nor its value to the individual states that they represent.

NAFTA reboot

The planned re-negotiation of NAFTA is expected to be one of the first challenges for Lighthizer to tackle in his new role. Trump has repeatedly criticised the decades-old trade deal for not doing enough to support American workers, and earlier this year hinted that he would withdraw the US from the pact should the planned upgrade be insufficient.

To initiate the process, the White House must send a letter to Congress declaring its intention to launch negotiations. This notice starts the clock on a 90-day domestic consultations window before the US can begin formal talks. Lighthizer was due to meet this week with members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, among others, in preparation for this notification.

Upcoming APEC meeting at Hanoi

Lighthizer will soon be headed to southeast Asia, traveling to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) trade ministers’ meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 20-21 May.

Along with the main APEC event, that meeting is slated to see a separate ministerial gathering on the margins. The latter will bring together officials from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries – a group that had previously included the United States until Trump withdrew earlier this year.

The proposed Pacific Rim trade deal is expected to be a major topic of conversation in Hanoi, with ministers from the other TPP nations set to evaluate options to advance the agreement without Washington’s participation.