Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey pressed top Biden administration trade officials to prioritize the interests of workers over companies in talks on a potential new pact among Pacific nations.
Warren and Casey said in separate letters to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that too often trade negotiations have been dominated by concerns of corporations, not workers, and they are urging the Biden administration to avoid a repeat as they negotiate the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
“The upcoming negotiation must move these policies forward, not return the U.S. to old, failed trade policies like the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” they wrote in the letters obtained by Bloomberg.
“We worry that IPEF could repeat the mistakes of previous trade policy and conflict with the administration’s commitment to a worker-centered trade policy.”
The Commerce Department said in a statement that Raimondo will consult with Congress while continuing “to pursue the president’s policy agenda in a way that creates good-quality jobs and strengthens our economic relationships, while also ensuring our partners meet high standards, including strong measures on labor.”
The two senators asked for answers by April 25 on a series of questions, including how labor and environmental protections will be improved and whether digital standards will benefit consumers and not just “Big Tech.”
Raimondo faced sharper questioning, with the senators concerned about some of her comments on technology and free-trade deals generally.
“We are particularly concerned that your agency’s request for comments on IPEF failed to include any reference to labor standards or U.S. domestic manufacturing,” they wrote. “You have not articulated how this framework will help U.S. workers — instead, you have noted the enthusiastic reception from foreign trading partners, who might benefit from IPEF’s focus on stabilizing offshore supply chains, as opposed to investing in manufacturing those products here in the U.S.”
They also questioned other remarks Raimondo has made about the trade talks.
“Given that traditional free trade agreements have been terrible for workers, consumers, and the environment, we are concerned that you will use these, rather than the pro-labor, and pro-worker provisions of the revised USMCA, as models to build on,” they wrote, referring to the trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
The two senators also questioned why Raimondo is negotiating on tax and corruption issues, given the Treasury Department has expertise on those issues.
“All of our concerns are heightened by the fact that the administration is seeking to negotiate this economic agreement with Congressional consultation but without Congressional approval,” they added.
