Chamber of Commerce VP Calls on Congress for More New Trade Agreements, Enforcement

Ahead of congressional hearings featuring U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president said on an April 15 press call that his organization is concerned about the “laissez faire” approach he said the Biden administration has been taking in negotiating against foreign trade barriers and enforcing existing U.S. trade agreements.

“The U.S. trade rep will face some tough questioning,” Executive Vice President John Murphy said. “Members of Congress from both parties, as well as the U.S. business community, are concerned about the direction of U.S. trade policy.”

The Chamber hopes to see action on legislation to renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, whose lapse three years ago has resulted in higher costs for small business and incentivized purchasing from China rather than GSP-eligible developing countries, he said. He said it also hopes the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill will move forward and that negotiations will begin for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which will expire in September 2025.

The Chamber is concerned, he said, about the fact that the administration has launched “no new negotiations” aimed at taking down trade barriers. He said U.S. businesses hope that, with the emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the administration will seek to engage in trade agreements with countries such as Kenya. The Indo-Pacific region, too, still seeks to work with the U.S. after the latter withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though the reversal of the Biden administration’s stance on digital trade barriers “has taken the wind out of some of the sails there,” he said.

And enforcement of U.S. agreements has been too lax, Murphy said. He pointed out that USTR deleted “dozens” of foreign restrictions from its annual Foreign Trade Barriers report (see 2404020044), a move that foreign governments might see “as a green light to raise barriers or otherwise discriminate against American companies.”

He also said that there has been “some frustration across the business community” over the administration’s enforcement, among other areas, of the USMCA with Mexico regarding trade disputes across various energy sectors.

Generally, he said that although the Chamber supports the administration’s emphasis on inclusivity and sustainability, it feels that more emphasis should be placed on American companies. He cited a USTR fact sheet on the USMCA rapid response mechanism that helped Mexican workers get $5 million in back pay.

“For many in the U.S. business community, the question arises, ‘What are we doing to sell more Made in America products, more Made in America goods and services, that sustain jobs and help workers here at home? And why isn't that at the top of the list?’” he said.