USTR Defends Consultation; Wyden Still Dissatisfied
A joint letter from U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to the Senate Finance Committee chairman defended their efforts to engage with Congress as they negotiate the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
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"Since February 2022, when President Biden announced the initiative, we have discussed IPEF with Members of Congress dozens of times, including in one-on-one meetings, meetings with committees of jurisdiction, and hearings. USTR and Commerce have briefed congressional staff on more than 120 occasions since February 2022, including daily briefings at the IPEF launch in Los Angeles, and during the negotiating rounds in Brisbane, Australia in December 2022 in Bali, Indonesia in March 2023, and in Singapore in May 2023, as well as the special negotiating round in New Delhi, India in February 2023," they wrote May 30.
They said they also shared draft negotiating texts with committees before sharing them with stakeholders and with the other countries' negotiating teams.
The letter outlined engagement with the public, including soliciting comments on negotiating priorities, and meeting with stakeholders during each negotiating round. They said they plan to continue both kinds of engagement.
In a statement emailed from Sen. Ron Wyden's staff, the Oregon Democrat noted that the letter was silent on Finance Committee members' opinion that Congress has to vote on the results of IPEF for it to take effect. Members of both parties think that should be the process.
"We asked the administration to work with Congress to arrive at a common understanding of how agreements like the IPEF will be approved. This letter neither recognizes Congress’s Constitutional authority, nor attempts to achieve a common understanding on how to move an agreement like the IPEF forward,” he said.