Congressional Efforts to Take Back Trade Authority From Trump Administration Ongoing, Former USTR Official Says

Legislative discussions continue for how to shape legislation in order to regain control of trade policy from the Trump administration as the legislative branch is further pushed to the sidelines, a former senior U.S. trade negotiator said. Barbara Weisel, former assistant U.S. trade representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Congress is beginning to question how it can retake its constitutionally granted powers over trade, which have been overtaken by the Trump administration and its preference for bilateral negotiations. “One has to believe there are many members of Congress now who are debating and quietly discussing how they are going to adjust this issue,” Weisel said during a Sept. 17 event at the Brookings Institution in Washington, focused on the "America First" trade policy with regard to Japan and Taiwan. “And I think it’s about time.”

Even though the Constitution gives Congress authority to regulate international trade, Congress has delegated trade policy to the executive branch, allowing the administration to set terms of negotiations -- most notably with China -- without many checks from Congress, Weisel said. And although Congress is keen to take back its trade authority as soon as possible, it does not want to disrupt current negotiations with China and Japan because of the toll it could take on U.S. farmers.

“Congress will not want to stay in the way of a trade agreement that could provide benefits to farmers,” Weisel said.

Mireya Solis, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, agreed. She said Congress will eventually re-evaluate its role in international trade policy, but it doesn’t want to risk delays in negotiations that will further damage the U.S. agriculture sector, which has been hurt by shrinking export markets in China.

“American farmers are really suffering from all the disruption in the trade world … and the idea is that farmers require some relief,” Solis said during the event. “But we need to step back and think about what's happening with the role of Congress in trade policy.”

Trump’s trade agenda includes a “need to radically disrupt trade policy,” Weisel said, which manifests in an increasing number of bilateral negotiations. “The administration sees bilateral trade deals as a means of addressing what it sees as unfair trade practices by most of our trading partners,” Weisel said. “He’s going back to a bilateral approach as a means to address what he sees as a failure of the U.S. government to use the leverage of its size and market power to advance 'America First' interests.”

Weisel said this approach creates global uncertainty and said she doubts the administration's ability to “articulate” its bilateral trade strategy. “The long-term vision for this bilateral strategy is difficult to identify,” she said. Weisel also said U.S. negotiations with Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Japan have caused “many countries” to question whether to seek a deal with the U.S. out of fear that “they could fall victim to the U.S.’s mercantilist approach.”

At the same time, those countries are negotiating their own regional trade deals that don’t include the U.S. “While many of them prefer U.S. leadership and partnership, they will continue to pursue global and regional trade agreements that will promote trade and develop regional standards that reflect their interests,” Weisel said.

Congress has taken notice of this, Weisel said, and wants to intervene when it won’t severely hurt U.S. farmers and other industries. Weisel advocated for this, saying that as USTR she valued Congress’ input and respected “the different views that are presented to you very aggressively by” Congress. “I think there’s something lost when you steamroll that process,” she said.