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The United States Trade Representative (USTR)<\/strong> is the key person in charge of trade issues in the President\u2019s administration. The current USTR, Robert Lighthizer, was instrumental in crafting and implementing Trump\u2019s trade policy. On December 9th<\/sup>, several news outlets reported that President-elect Joe Biden will be nominating Katherine Tai for this role. In this blogpost we introduce her and the challenges she is facing.<\/em><\/p>\n The position of USTR<\/strong> was created by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the role covers three important \u00a0functions: advice, coordination and negotiation. First, the USTR serves as chief advisor to the U.S. President on trade policy and its public communication. Second, the USTR coordinates the trade policy between different agencies of the administration and consults with members of Congress or congressional committees.<\/p>\n Third, the USTR acts as the chief negotiator in bilateral or regional or trade agreements as well as in the World Trade-Organizations (WTO.) The USTR is a member of the President\u2019s cabinet; her\/his nomination by the president needs to be confirmed by the US Senate.<\/p>\n The current trade representative<\/strong>, Robert Lighthizer, has held this position since May 15, 2017. Lighthizer is a trade law veteran, who served in the Reagan administration, and holds the view that the trade policy of previous US administrations has not done enough to support American industrial workers and has ceded too much authority over US trade policy to the WTO.<\/p>\n As a result, he leaves behind a controversial legacy: On the bilateral and regional level, Lighthizer was a driving force behind tariffs on steel and aluminum and the trade war with China. He \u00a0led the negotiations for the Phase One Deal, as well as for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), NAFTA\u2019s successor. He also left his mark on the WTO<\/strong>, which he severely damaged by blocking decision processes in the organization.<\/p>\n By refusing to nominate new members to the Appellate Body, he crippled the second stage of the dispute resolution mechanism, seriously undermining the institution\u2019s ability to enforce its rules. He also blocked the nomination of Nigeria\u2019s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as new WTO Director General although she emerged as the candidate with the widest backing of WTO member states.<\/p>\n Katherine Tai currently serves as the chief trade advisor of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives. She is a lawyer by training with degrees from Yale and Harvard University. With previous work in the USTR \u2013 where she served as Chief Counsel on China Trade Enforcement during the Obama administration \u2013 she has extensive knowledge of trade policy and law. Tai\u2019s parents immigrated from Taiwan, so she is fluent in Mandarin and also knows China well, having lived in Guangzhou for a few years .<\/p>\nWhat is the USTR?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who is the current USTR and what is his legacy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who is Katherine Tai<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Which domestic challenges will she face is she is confirmed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n