New Dems Ask Biden to Negotiate Trade Liberalizing FTAs, Including in IPEF

The New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of pro-free trade Democrats, publicly released a letter to the president asking him to change course on trade, and work on traditional free trade agreements that lower tariffs and go through congressional approval. President Joe Biden has declined to work on any trade-liberalizing FTAs, saying that deals that can be negotiated more quickly that address supply chains, trade facilitation and other non-tariff barriers are more fit for today's challenges.

"New Dems believe trade agreements approved by Congress are more durable than initiatives concluded as executive agreements," the House members wrote, later adding: "frameworks are not substitutes for trade agreements approved by Congress that open markets for U.S. products."

They also argue that the U.S. will be able to get partner countries to adopt high labor and environmental standards by lowering tariffs for their exporters. They asked for FTAs with the U.K., Taiwan and Kenya, for a start, but also asked that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework be expanded to include trade liberalization. They argue that by pursuing trade agreements with allies, they can counter China.

They also said renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program could "encourage companies to move production out of China and into developing nations." They asked the administration to prioritize working with Congress to renew the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) acts.

They asked the administration to "explore new environmental goods agreement negotiations, particularly with countries with market-based economies and high standards."

They obliquely referred to Section 232 tariffs, asking the administration to negotiate a way that would transition away "from imposing tariffs on our closest allies."

The eleven members that signed the letter, led by Reps. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, Don Beyer of Virginia and Jimmy Panetta of California, asked the administration to "establish a comprehensive, fair, and transparent exclusion process for existing Section 301 tariffs to cut costs for Americans and ease global supply chain constraints."

They also said Congress and the administration should consider ways to address the "regressivity of the tariff system." That's an argument made by apparel and footwear importers (see 2110200059) and a former career Office of the U.S. Trade Representative staffer now at a progressive think tank (see 2209010053).

In a news release announcing the letter, the members said: “New Dems are committed to advancing durable solutions to our greatest challenges – from strengthening America's trade relationships and countering China’s illegal trade practices to bolstering agricultural exports and setting the global standard for digital trade.”