Negotiating new trade deals for American workers and consumers has taken a back seat under the Biden administration.
Negotiating new trade deals for American workers and consumers has taken a back seat under the Biden administration. Working to sign beneficial trade deals with countries like India or the United Kingdom was a top priority under the last administration, but Biden’s trade team has little to nothing to report. Contrast this with Donald Trump’s flurry of trade activity, which resulted in new deals with Japan and South Korea and a much-improved version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) —the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Under President Trump, the United States trade representative aggressively fought for new trade opportunities around the globe while also demanding better trade conditions with our most important trading partners, Mexico and Canada. USMCA is a significant improvement over NAFTA. It opened new markets and opportunities for our farmers, ranchers, and innovators while ending unfair trade practices that had persisted too long. As a current member of the Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade and a member of the USMCA whip team, I was proud to work with the group that helped advance the trade deal through Congress. The past year couldn’t have been more different. Biden’s inattention to trade should be a five-alarm fire for any farmers or manufacturers who rely on selling their products overseas.
