Senators direct Biden admin to end 'secret talks' with foreign trade partners

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration's trade representative, Katherine Tai, to end what they describe as “secret negotiations” with foreign trading partners.

In a letter Wednesday, led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and signed by 18 of his Senate colleagues, the group accused Tai and the Biden administration of bypassing Congress and failing to consider adequate input from business leaders. As an impetus to the “rush”, two major changes in the country free trade agreements With Mexico, Canada and Colombia.

The amendments would serve to amend the government's interpretation of investor protection provisions for US businesses included in trade deals with these countries.

“Unfortunately, the USTR is continuing the fundamental changes approved by Congress trade agreements on an abbreviated timeline, out of public view, and without meaningful congressional consultation,” the senators' letter emphasized. “Robust consultation with Congress and stakeholders is essential to ensure that affected companies and their employees understand what is being proposed and how it is being proposed. can affect internal and external operations”.

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U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai speaks with her Mexican counterparts during a joint news conference in Dean Acheson Auditorium at the State Department's Harry S. Truman Building on September 29, 2023 in Washington. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

The ongoing negotiations concern interpretations of investor protection provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.

Currently, US businesses that operate internationally may use third-party courts to mediate disputes with other countries regarding their business practices. According to Reuters, existing investor protections that allow third-party mediation in these trade deals have resulted in large damage claims against governments.

About 40 groups of Democrats House of Representatives In a separate letter led by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, last month, he said he was happy to hear reports of potential innovations in investor protection sections, arguing that the third-party intermediary process serves to help businesses. excessive force to interfere with lawful government action.

The letter calls the move a “wise move,” arguing that investor protection mechanisms allow “foreign corporations” to weaponize international courts to circumvent domestic politics and prioritize business interests to the detriment of those countries' workers, consumers, small businesses and others. environment.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas (Getty Images/Getty Images)

“We urge you to take urgent action to eliminate or drastically reduce the ability of multinational corporations to use Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals as a tool to attack legitimate government actions and extract unlimited sums from the taxpayers of countries based on laws, actions . or judicial decisions of sovereign states that corporations claim conflict with their special ISDS rights and privileges,” the letter said.

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