ITC Commissioner Suggests US May Draw Closer to EU/UK on Trade Issues

Speakers for Navigating the New Normal, a keynote panel at a trade symposium convened by The Economist Feb. 2, discussed whether the political pressure to bring supply chains closer to home will overcome the fact that Vietnam's and China's economies weathered the pandemic better than Europe, with no conclusion, but also talked about what the future of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the United Kingdom will be in trade.

Jason Kearns, current chairman of the International Trade Commission and a former chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, said he doesn't think a comprehensive free trade agreement between the two countries is likely. “Obviously, I think there’s a lot of common ground between the U.K. and U.S.,” he said, adding that many of the Biden administration's positions could be more aligned with U.K. and European Union positions, such as on data privacy, climate change, and sanitary and phytosanitary rules.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi expressed concerns that a move toward nearshoring will disrupt South Asian and African manufacturing niches. “Trade and development should not be decoupled at this moment,” he said. He expressed hope that countries would come together to appoint a new director-general at the World Trade Organization and restore its appellate body.

But Kearns argued that WTO dispute settlement has been infringing on the sovereignty of the United States, and he said there won't be a “return to what the world looked like four years ago.”

Both he and Karan Bilimoria, president of the Confederation of British Industry, said that trade will be emphasizing equity more in the future. Kearns pointed to Democrats' interest in tying Generalized System of Preferences benefits to the treatment of women in the workplace in eligible countries.