Tai Confirmed as USTR With Unanimous Senate, Broad Industry Support

Tech and creative industries universally hailed the Senate's 98-0 confirmation Wednesday of China and trade expert Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative. Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., didn't vote. Tai inherits the USTR post as three rounds of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place at 25% and proposed duties on Vietnamese imports are still on the table from the Trump administration’s Section 301 investigation into Hanoi’s alleged currency manipulation.

Overhauling Section 301 tariff exclusions to give the process more “transparency and predictability” would be “very high on my radar,” if confirmed, Tai told her Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Feb. 25 (see 2102250043). The tariffs on Chinese goods “disrupted a lot of people’s lives and livelihoods,” she said, without saying during the three-hour hearing whether she favored keeping or eliminating the duties.

“Congratulations to Katherine Tai on @USTradeRep confirmation,” tweeted CTA. “We look forward to working together toward fair and sustainable trade policies that protect American businesses and consumers.” The Telecommunications Industry Association is “excited to work” with Tai and her staff "to address a broad range of important topics including securing the global ICT supply chain, ensuring open markets for U.S. goods and services, confronting unfair trade practices, and eliminating technical barriers to trade,” said CEO David Stehlin.

“Enabling a 21st century economy is critical to U.S. economic competitiveness, job creation, and innovation,” said Information Technology Industry Council CEO Jason Oxman. ITI is “excited to work with her to advance an open, rules-based, and inclusive trade agenda that empowers workers in the U.S., promotes a sustainable planet, and counters growing protectionist trends that U.S. exporters face around the world.”

BSA|The Software Alliance urges Tai as USTR to “promote digital trade policies that facilitate the responsible transfer of data across borders,” said CEO Victoria Espinel. “Data transfers don’t just benefit the technology sector,” said Espinel. “USTR can grow high-skilled middle-class jobs and spur greater export-led growth with digital trade policies that support American advanced manufacturing and services market access abroad.”

During Tai’s time as lead trade counsel for House Ways and Means, she played “an instrumental role” in the passage of the bipartisan United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said TechNet: USMCA “included strong intellectual property protections and a landmark digital chapter that eliminated digital trade barriers and enhanced trade between our countries.”

Tai understands “the unique power of the film, television and streaming industry to drive America’s soft power and economic growth,” said MPA CEO Charles Rivkin. “She also fully appreciates that securing robust copyright protections overseas is fundamental to developing a worker-centric trade policy.” As USTR, Tai “will handle many issues important to creators,” said Rivkin. “In the midst of the global pandemic, the USTR can help the industry create jobs and rebuild our economy by supporting a strong and healthy legal global marketplace for digital content.”

RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier praised Tai as “a deeply knowledgeable trade expert” who puts the administration “in an extremely strong position to advance a forward-looking trade agenda to improve the lives of all Americans, including the U.S. creative community.” Tai’s focus on “harnessing trade to expedite U.S. economic recovery and catalyze its benefits to promote employment and growth comes at a critical time,” said Glazer.

Tai will “capably represent America on the world stage,” said Progressive Policy Institute President Will Marshall. As USTR, she will “help us regain our footing with our international trading partners after the previous administration’s ill-conceived detour into blunderbuss tariffs, protectionism and gratuitous ally-bashing,” he said.