Crapo, Wyden, Bipartisan Senators Call on President Biden to Stop Rushing Trade Negotiations Behind Closed Doors

Crapo, Wyden, Bipartisan Senators Call on President Biden to Stop Rushing Trade Negotiations Behind Closed Doors

"Trade policy works best for all Americans when all Americans-and their elected representatives in Congress-have a say in its development."

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) led a bipartisan group of senators calling on the Biden Administration to direct United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai to cease secret negotiations with foreign trading partners. The USTR is attempting to change at least three major trade agreements in secret, while simultaneously sacrificing valuable leverage that the USTR could use to win concessions from trading partners that would benefit Americans.

USTR is seeking changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) by the end of the presidential term.

"Unfortunately, USTR is pursuing substantive changes to congressionally approved trade agreements on an abbreviated timeline, out of the view of the public, and without meaningful congressional consultation," the senators wrote. "USTR did not consult with, or even notify, Congress before drafting these interpretations and seeking approval by the Executive Branch agencies."

The senators warned that making concessions to trading partners would sacrifice leverage to make progress on a number of U.S. priorities. In USMCA negotiations, for example, USTR should use any available leverage to address Mexico's restrictions on U.S. corn and energy, as well as Canada's unfair dairy policies and taxes on digital services. USTR should also push to resolve the United States' many outstanding concerns with Colombia, including labor standards and workers' rights, corn and dairy market access and auto regulations.

The senators continued, "Robust consultations with Congress and stakeholders would help USTR ensure that its engagements help Americans get what they were promised under U.S. trade agreements. To put it simply, trade policy is too important to keep Americans in the dark. We urge you to direct USTR to refrain from further negotiating text proposals with foreign trading partners unless and until meaningful consultations with Congress and stakeholders have occurred."

Crapo and Wyden have repeatedly called on USTR to make trade agreements more transparent by working closely with Congress:

• In January 2022, Crapo and Wyden called on the Biden administration to enforce USMCA and hold Canada and Mexico to their commitments that were intended to benefit American workers, farmers and businesses.
• In May 2022, Crapo and Wyden made clear that Ambassador Tai was failing to abide by the Administration's own transparency guidelines.
• In November 2023, Crapo and Wyden called on the White House to engage in comprehensive consultations to ensure that U.S. digital trade policy combats the repressive policies of Russia and China and promotes open markets for digital goods exported by American creators and businesses.

Chairman Crapo strongly opposes any attempt by the Biden Administration to unreasonably tie the incoming Trump Administration or Republican Congress's hands on trade policy.

In addition to Crapo and Wyden, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Todd Young (R-Indiana), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Alex Padilla (D-California) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia).

Read the full letter here.