U.S. news agency Bloomberg reported Monday (Feb. 1) that Joe Biden‘s administration is developing a trade policy that prioritizes enforcing existing commitments by U.S. partners over negotiating more deals to open new export markets.
The report cited industry veterans familiar with Biden’s incoming team as saying that Biden’s strategy to support U.S. producers is likely to focus on pursuing violations through dialogue, cooperation with allies and the use of dispute resolution mechanisms in existing trade agreements, and will not follow former President Trump‘s national security tariffs, a unilateral tool.
Biden has already indicated that he will not immediately eliminate the Trump Administration‘s policy of imposing tariffs. To pressure China, the European Union, Mexico and Canada to address trade imbalances and protect U.S. domestic industries and jobs, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on some imports from those countries.
Biden has been emphasizing that he will resume cooperation with allies and that there is both competition and cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party, but his policy – whether and when he might eliminate the tariffs and what concessions he will seek from the other side – is up in the air.
Bloomberg reports that the Biden Administration‘s approach to enforcement is likely to focus on negotiation, mediation and multilateral action, rather than unilateral action.
Biden Administration Likely to Start with Labor Standards for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
The Biden administration is likely to start with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), which takes effect in July, because Biden’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Katherine Tai, played a major role in negotiating the agreement’s labor provisions. The USMCA will replace the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), the largest U.S. union and a traditional Democratic ally, has said since September that it will file its first complaint about working conditions for Mexican workers.
U.S. unions have long complained that under the previous North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican factories depressed wages, denied workers’ rights and were unfairly lower in cost than in the United States.
Under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, any member of the U.S. public can file a petition alleging that a Mexican agency has denied them their rights. A U.S. interagency commission would then review the matter to see if there is sufficient, credible evidence. If there is, the commission would then ask Mexico to investigate. While there are many steps focused on remedying any violations, the U.S. could eventually eliminate duty-free treatment for products from specific facilities, or even block imports of repeatedly violated goods altogether.
Dyche is currently preparing for a nomination hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. In a speech in January, she referred to the USMCA’s “groundbreaking labor and environmental provisions” and pledged to work to ensure that the agreement “fulfills its potential.
USTR Nominee: U.S. Faces Growing Competition from Communist China
Dyche has served as chief trade counsel to the House Appropriations Committee since 2017. Prior to joining the Appropriations Committee in 2014, she spent several years in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, including three years as general counsel for China trade enforcement, where she handled U.S.-China trade disputes.
Dyche was also the lead counsel for House Democrats seeking to strengthen the labor provisions of the USMCA after Trump reached a preliminary agreement with Mexico and Canada in 2018.
Dyche speaks fluent Mandarin and is very knowledgeable about China. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Yale University, she taught English for several years at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.
Speaking at the National Foreign Trade Council in early January, Dykie, who has kept a low profile, said she believes the U.S.-China trade relationship is one of the most important factors in today’s world, which is “a more complex and fragile world than it has ever been in my lifetime.
“Our nation and our people face serious challenges in navigating forward and upholding our values and our place in the world,” Dyche said.
On the international stage, she said, we face growing competition from the Chinese Communist Party. China’s economy is guided by a central planner who is not subject to pressure for political pluralism, democratic elections or public opinion.
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