authorizing $110 billion for technology research to help the u.s. compete with china. a procedural vote is set for 5:30 p.m. eastern. they are expected to continue work on that through the week as well as more of president biden's nominees. watch gavel to gavel coverage of the senate live on c-span2, the house live on c-span. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including wow. >> the world has changed. today the fashion level internet connection something no one can live without so wow is therefore our customers with speed, reliability, value and choice. now more than ever it all starts with great internet. wow. >> wow support c-span as a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy.

>> next u.s. trade representative catherine ties testimony of president biden's trade policy agenda. she spoke before the house ways and means committee. >> the ways and means committee will come to order. good morning and welcome. we holding today's hearing in aa hybrid format in compliance with the rules and regulations remote committee proceedings pursuant to house resolution eight. before we begin i want to remind members of a few procedures to keep the proceedings running smoothly. first, consistent with regulations the committee will keep microphones muted to limit background noise.

members are responsible for unmuting themselves when they seek recognition or when recognized for five minutes. many staff will mute members only in the event of an inadvertent background noise section. second, when members are present in the proceeding via webex they must have their cameras on. if you need to step away to attend another proceeding please turn your camera and audio off rather than walking out of the platform. finally consistent with recent revise guidance made by the office of the attending physician, members may briefly remove their masks when under recognition to speak and replace the mask at the conclusion of the remarks. this new change in guidance is a reflection of what and why we're on our way back to normalcy. but we are not quite there yet and so we'll continue to adhere to health guidelines including maintaining six-foot social distancing on the dais to best

protect the health of staff, families, and our communities. thank you for your continued cooperation as we continue to serve our country together in this time of need. now i will turn to the topic of today's hearing, the 2021 biden administration trade policy agenda. today we have had the privo welcome ambassador katherine tai, united states trade representative to the ways and means committee hearing room. ambassador tied, i'm pleased to welcome you back to this committee for your new and very well earned role. her prior work in this committee any good positions you to understand better than most imports of u.s. trade policy as it supports american working families and businesses. over the past 14 months the covid pandemic has upended lives across this country and around the world. it exposed the fragility of our economic and health system. it is also revealed that many of

us have known for quite some time, that is their economic and health policies have not always benefited everyone equitably. as vaccination rates increase and will begins to reopen we left with an economy in need of revitalization and people in need of help. we have an opportunity to set the american economy and american workers on a better course. as you know the democrats on the committee have been actively working to create these policies that are inclusive, equitable and responsive to the changing dynamics of global economics. i am committed to putting forward more informed solutions to greg and inequities instt all americans are benefiting trade opportunities. through a trade and equity of this we must aggressively enforce our trade agreements, cheer our trade policies helped to create good paying quality jobs, rebuild alliances with our trading partners to tackle the challenge of global economic and

public health recoveries, confront china's unfair trade practices, human rights abuses and growing at the democratic influences. we need to explore new opportunities with like-minded countries a work to ensure that our policies promote racial equity and correct inequities. ambassador tied, you know better than most of the the house s fought hard to establish a new structure for aggressive enforcement of usmca and to buy the necessary funding to bring strong enforcement actions. i'm very proud of these new standards that we are able to establish in usmca come particularly the closing of loopholes in the state to state enforcement mechanism and creation of novel rapid response mechanisms which i can see already appeared to have occurred as part of the challenge that we offered. i was pleased with your announcement yesterday that you use these tools to pursue a legislative violations at a

plant in mexico. i hope you will be able to breast briefly comment on that immediate outcome. i was very pleased when the filing of the petition by friends in labor under the rapid response mechanism. trade agreement only succeed if they are enforced and i look for to working with you to ensure enforcement of usmca that supports workers at home and abroad. we not only need to ensure our trading partners are playing by the rules but that we have a responsibility to make sure our own policies and actions are consistent with trade agreement obligations. this means as we create new policies that are responsive to the needs of today, we must respect our international trade commitments. i'm convinced we could pursue a bold forward-looking policy that is in consistent with our international obligations. trade can be a powerful driver for good paying quality jobs in a thriving economy. must ensure that our trade policies promote human rights,, high labor standards and environmental protections.

i am certainly troubled by the actions coming from china. china's use of force labor in xinjiang lynn steps to suppressed suppress democratic institutions in hong kong, along 13 patient left taiwan, and pervasive unfair trading practices that will require our immediate attention. we must unwavering in our condemnation of these actions and use every tool available to confront destructive practices. we should not go it alone or crochet work with allies to address the challenges we face with china as well as steps to address the global economic recovery. rebuilding trust and strengthening our alliances with europe, asia, africa and her neighbors in the americas will be key to our success. in addition, we must take every available opportunity to urge our trading partners to joint effort to eradicate forced labor, combat climate change, sustain institutions and practices that support open societies and fair markets.

we must reassert ourselves on the world stage including at the wto, multilateral institution provide a powerful platform to address some of these global challenges. as a u.s. begins to leak begin at the wto, i urge you to seek long-standing reform of the dispute settlement system, transparency and notification obligations, special differential treatment and subsidy disciplines. i also employ you to raise issues that have been overlooked by the institution, namely labor, climate change and women's economic empowerment. it is important that the wto not only correct past mistakes to look at to serve as a platform to address the needs during these times. as work to repair our alliances both bilaterally and multilaterally, we cannot miss your opportunity explore new trade arrangements with like-minded countries. i'm especially supportive of deepening ties with europe and africa and look forward to

partnering with the administration in developing an approach that benefits both our interests and indeed for those of our trading partners. today's hearing allows members of this committee to hear from you directly about the administration division for u.s. trade policy and equally important this is an opportunity for you to or from us about priorities. this conversation is building block for partnerships between congress and the administration to create policies that benefit all americans. trade policy fulfills his greatest potential when it is a product of close collaboration between congress, democrats and republicans, and the executive. i am immensely pleased to have someone in the top trade post to understand firsthand that congress involved in usmca made a better labor agreement. and i hope to have the same level of partnership as administration forges ahead with its agenda. look for to hearing from you on how we can work together to craft the trade policy that corrects the inequities of yesterday meets the challenges

of today and anticipates the needs of tomorrow. without many recognize the ranking member mr. brady for his opening statements. thank you, chairman neal. welcome back to the committee, ambassador tai. as a said before i have every confidence that you will be successful in this new role not only because you're trade policy expertise that because you're such a skill and strong negotiator. you understand what it takes to get trade policy done on the hill company for bipartisanship, intensive, and transparency. after our success on usmca, i know we can work together. republicans are eager to work with you, the biden administration and democrats to benefit american workers and families through our trade policy. i admit president biden inherited a strong economy and life-saving vaccines, and i worry that he will sabotage our jobs recovery with crippling tax increases that hard-working

families and drive american jobs overseas. i also worry that with the federal unemployment bonus, four out of ten americans -- then reconnect with work which is really making main street businesses struggle. but that's all about jobs, and we have that need for jobs. this is some whoppers in issue and it brings me to my first appointment. the biden administration trade agreement moratorium needs to cease. it's not enough to buy america. we need to sell america through all throughout the world. our manufacturing workers, farmers, main street businesses. we need new trade agreements to promote our workers and sell our products whether in uk, kenya, japan, the eucom the asia-pacific or elsewhere it is the right time, with the right u.s. trade representative in place and we have the right bipartisan dynamics to move these agreements for work.

first up is to renew the strong partnership between congress and the administration on trade to trade promotion authority. we must get started quickly so we can negotiate these agreements and sell america as well as send a strong signal to the rest of the world that america will lead on trade. we to enforce these agreements. i am as disturbing as you are as compliance on energy and agriculture in particular, vigorous enforcement of usmca in its entirety is essential to maintaining agreements strong bipartisan support. we should also new programs should not even allowed to lapse. sorting our job creators and workers and we must work together to move forward sooner rather than later. when it comes to trade with china there is more work to be done together. after tough negotiations the previous administration force in china to end barriers. the use agriculture greatly improved intellectual-property standards and enforcement. i hope this administration not

only enforce the agreement we reached but also work with our allies to build off its success and launched the next phase. phase one was no easy left. u.s. bore the brunt by leading the negotiations. our allies step up with us. we are stronger together. we also must stand by our allies. many nations are in crisis and need access to covid-19 vaccine. republicans and democrats alike agree we must act urgently and practically to get those vaccines to them. but surrounding american technology as this administration has actively pursuing will not solve the practical problems that preventing vaccines from being broadly available. simply handing over the years technology doesn't provide the single shot to people who need it now. just consider the country is to build or adapt manufacturing,, produce its pioneering technology and develop a workforce with specialized

expertise and require barometers mole of the world. some are in short supply. then has to figure distribution. all that can take years. instead of making vaccines broadly available around the world i believe the administration's move endangers american patients and future medical development by punishing the companies that spent billions to innovate these life-saving vaccines. and it rewards china. giving it the risk of access to u.s. innovation come something chinese spies as recently as last june were arrested for attempting to steal. instead let's look together to develop solutions that will solve the very real logistical hurdles, flowing access in our developing countries. finally, republicans democrats or commitment to the success in the reform of the wto. republicans are eager to resume wto environmental goods agreement negotiations to eliminate tariffs on u.s. clean

energy exports while creating american jobs and benefiting the environment and double conclude like i began come with usmca together we help working families, coworkers and job creators by advancing our trade policies in a smart bipartisan way. let's continue to do so. i look forward to working with you, ambassador, and chairman neal on opportunities before us. with that, from one. >> thank you mr. bertie. without objection on members opening statement shall be made part of the official record. now, great pleasure and honor to turn to our stand witness, the united states trade ambassador katherine tai. your stable will be part of the record in its entirety and him as to to summarize your testimony in five minutes or less. you for that industry before. and help you with the time please keep an eye on the clock. i will notify you when time is expired. i also want to use the

opportunity and i'm going to yield to mr. brady, to recognize another esteemed member of the ways and means family, who is about to proceed to a new assignment into a delegate angela bell are is about to become one part of the new wto, wto deputy director general. throughout her nearly three decades on this committee chair skillfully negotiated trade deals and crafted our nation's trade policy. and i might say in a very pleasant way. all the while gaining a a sophisticated understanding of the opportunities available and the challenges facing wto. she has been dogged in a defense of house institutional prerogatives and are commitment to public service is unmatched. i wish of the very best in this new endeavor, now let me recognize mr. brady. >> chairman, thank you there in the trade world there is no one quite like angela. she's brilliant, hard-working and devoted to getting trade right. she's been a devoted public servant for nearly three decades on the ways and means committee,

advancing the prosperity of workers and businesses. through her work on 13 trade agreements she's opened the doors for americans deliver goods and services worldwide, strengthening our economy and securing our leadership abroad. she is a friend and has been just a tremendous leader and while i in ways and means come will miss her knowledge and insight, i'm convinced her experience and commitment to excellent would be a major asset for the world trade organization. and i commend ambassador tie or directing that nomination and i want to join you, , charlie come in the committee in congratulating angela and extend our best wishes in her new role as deputy director general. >> thank you, mr. brady. [applause] ambassador tai, would you please proceed. >> thank you, chairman neal,

ranking member brady, members of the committee for inviting me to testify on the president trade agenda. it is great to be back with you. it is a good to be back in longworth. our worker center trade policy is a key part of the biden-harris administrations effort to build back better. we're making real strides towards ending the pandemic. there are pockets of progress and hope but we still have a lot of work ahead. i want to thank the congress for passing the american rescue plan which is help to get shot in arms and money in the pockets of millions of americans. the american jobs plan an american families plan would combine to make bold investments that build a a better foundatn for decades of economic growth. these extraordinary times demand extraordinary leadership to defeat covid-19's we will not let intellectual property rights given with saving lives but our investment announcement is just one part of the administration's global

effort. we will pursue negotiations at the wto and i encourage that other countries have only announced they will join us. will also continue to wrap up our efforts which with the private sector to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world. this comprehensive effort will save lives and help heal the economy. we are be engaging the world from a position of strength. we want a fair international trading system that promotes inclusive growth and reflects america's values. the worker center trade policy outlined in the president's trade agenda will foster broad-based equitable growth, increase innovation and give workers a seat at the table. last week i announced our transparency principles and the appointment of our chief transparency officer. and for the first time the president's trade agenda included the goal of racial equity. our thoughtful sustained

engagement will help us better understand how our proposed policies affect all communities, and we'll consider those effects before making policy decisions. trade policy must also help protect the environment and fight climate change. we can incentivize a race to the top and built a cleaner and brighter future with high-paying jobs. our farmers, ranchers, fissures and food processes will also benefit from our new approach. we're turning the page on policies and public to expal market opportunities while enforcing global trade sanders. our trading partners must live up -- standards. sustained american leadership in re-engagement with our allies, trading partners and economic competitors will be key. we will work with the world trade organizations new director general and like-minded countries to reform the debbie tos rules and procedures so it can be a relevant force for good

in the 21st century. we're also working to resolve the ongoing flowing and airbus dispute and address the real problem of overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sectors. solutions to both are within reach. we will not hesitate to call that china's coercive and unfair trade practices that harm american workers, and among the multilateral systems or violate basic human rights. and we are developing a strategic approach to our trade and economic relationship. we welcome a fair competition but if china cannot or will not adapt to international rules and norms, we must level the playing field. closer to home we're using every tool available to make sure our existing agreements work for real people. the united states texico canada agreement gives me confidence that this approach is worth while. usmca is a starting point for future efforts in the region that explicit knowledge climate

change aggressively address global forced labor issues and expand the benefits of trade to underserved communities your i will enforce the new standards, follow-through on a commitment and use the agreement to ensure that canada and mexico do, too. this week you have see that we are committed to using these tools. the innovative rapid response mechanism while i i was to ads long-standing labor issues in mexico. i was proud to announce the inaugural use of this tool yesterday and i commend the government of mexico for stepping in when it heard about the voting irregularities earlier. i am proud to partner with mexico to prevent a race to the bottom. as you can see, we have our work cut out for us but i'm confident that we can walk, chew gum and play chess at the same time. i'm proud to carry the strength and creativity with our small but mighty agency into this room today. take you for your time and i look forward to your questions.

>> thank you, ambassador tai, projection each member will be recognized for five minutes to question a witness in this hybrid city will will dispense with the rule and when the order of seniority switching between majority and minority members and i would begin by recognizing myself. ambassador, as a work to build back better it's important we embrace our allies and not shrink from our alliances. we must continue to be a champion for american innovation, , labor rights and environmental protections. the european union is one of our closest allies with whom we share a common history and democratic values. my belief is a should be a priority as we go forward with trade negotiations. how do you intend to work with european union to resolve trade issues and explore opportunities for deepening economic and trade cooperation both bilaterally at the multilateral opportunities at wto? >> chairman neal, i know how you

feel about the potential for usb you cooperation in particular, economic cooperation, and i agree there's a lot of potential that we have yet to realize and we have an enormous opportunity right now to work on this relationship and to some ways to build back better the u.s.-eu relationship or i want to assure you that a lot of our work right now come right out of the gate is focused on promoting cooperation with the european union. first of all we are working very, very hard under a four-month time frame we have suspended our retaliatory tariffs on each other for the boeing airbus disputes come to focus our teams on truly committing to resolving these 16-year-old disputes that have been litigated through the wto for almost two decades now. we're also working with our european counterparts on a number of different initiatives

to strengthen our cooperation, including in the areas of addressing global trade distortions, like the overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sectors. and looking really at forward-looking initiatives where we can partner effectively to harness all of our shared values economically and politically to address the significant challenges that we face come from other quarters of the world. >> ambassador, when china join the wto in 2001 the expectation was that wto membership woodley china to become more democratic, embrace a greater respect for human rights and develop a market-based economy. china clearly has not met that expectation. do you think the global trading system itself needs to develop new tools to address the challenges posed by china, and have you envision working with our allies to confront some of

these challenges in china, namely forced labor and human rights abuses? >> chairman neal, i agree with you that when china join the wto there was a lot of hope and expectation that membership in the wto would really lead to china internalizing a lot of norms economic and politically that are represented by the members of the wto. over time we've seen that we all make choices, countries make choices, governments make choices. along the way we see the choices that china has made has not led it to the results that many of those supportive of its entrance to the wto had '04. let me take your question in a couple parts. why is it is critical to work with others to confront, to work on, to communicate with china in

all the ways where its policies are really powerfully impactful on the rest of the world that are not impactful in a positive way. at the wto yes, we need new rules but but i also want to emphasize that some of the foundational rules at the wto need to be reformed in order for the wto to become relevant to address the challenges we have given the change in the global economy and the changes in the relationships between wto members have happened in the past 25 years. >> thank you, ambassador. now let me recognize the ranking member, mr. brady. >> thank you, chairman. i know you know the and understand the significance of trade promotion authority for our negotiating our trade agenda and how it really defined e shared constitutional authority of congress entrée. every president deserves to have tpa. they are not necessarily easy to

negotiate but behold the framework together of the new administration or existing administration. our trading partners need to know we are serious about opening new markets ntb extends that strong signal. i begin working with tp administration with chairman neal. can you give us time frame on when the administration will be ready to sit down with us to begin modernizing or updating tpa? >> congressman brady, i know your interest in this particular issue and this particular mechanism that has been used so often and the finest partnership between congress, this committee and ustr and the administration in the negotiations of new trade agreements. you and i have talked about how important this is to you. i appreciate you raising it here today.

what i would like to reinforce is that from my perspective in order to do this right i am interested in having a tpa that is robustly supported in the bipartisan, bicameral way here in congress. just like i said about our trade agreement, i very much hope that usmca and the kind of support we saw for it will be a model for perceiving from here on out. that is the kind of support that we need to have in the united states. i would very much like to convey to you that those sentiments apply equally to tpa. >> can ask a follow-up? in your mind, on a general timetable thinking, is this a next month discussion we can begin having? is this a this year discussion? is it a never discussion? what in your view is the

timetable that we can be thinking about? again i'm not trying to tie you down, just trying to get a sense. >> i understand, mr. brady. traditionally, tpa has been an articulation of the objectives that the united states government, congress and administration will pursue a trade negotiating agenda. in my mind what we have an opportunity to do right now is rethink the way tpa works and also really to rethink the objectives that we want to be pursuing through our trade agreement, to be more specific i think right now on the heels of usmca and still struggle to get through a pandemic, from my perspective here in the administration i think that there is an opportunity to look at tpa through the lens of the old back better. that would be i think a very --

build back better. an important clarification from the administration side and i would invite members of congress to think about this opportunity at this time in history in terms of what a trade agreement negotiating agenda should accomplish for the u.s. economy but also for a global recovery. >> so if i i say this year is there any chance you could give us a big wink? >> let me say this. let's do the work. let's do the thinking. >> sounds good. i know you are aware of my strong discriminate for the support for the waiver, investing pants on the debbie cukor when you get these vaccines out. it is a real responsibility of the best way to solve it is to rapidly increase the manufacturing to all our global neighbors. i think this waiver undermines those effort and certainly the long term. let me ask you some questions that i'm thinking about.

what terms will the united states seek in this waiver? for example, federation and the details and how it is implemented. will the waiver be tied to the manufacturing and distribution? will the united states walk away from negotiations with other participants don't agree to limiting the scope of vaccines only? and then the practical question, who will conduct these negotiations for the u.s.? we know there are no deputies in place. our new wto ambassador has not been nominated. how do you see that going forward? >> congressman brady, i've got three seconds i will try to put as much in here. i want to engage bursars at a really appreciate the construct of what you've asked your question about focusing on manufacturing and distributions. those are important components but at the wto what we're hearing from the waiver proponents is that they feel

extremely vulnerable and in not having access to vaccines and not being able to make them either. this reminds me of the really important principle that you can give a man a fish and feeding for a day, but you can teach him to fish and he can, he can have a meal for a lifetime, right? one important question is looking at where there is manufacturing capacity in the world and in seeing there's some segments of the world that are completely very, very much limited in being able to manufacture a vaccine for them so. that's one thing i wanted to say. on your other questions let me condense my answer to just say this. the announcement last week to support the waiver means a lot of things, but as a practical matter it means this administration has committed itself to roll up our sleeves and engage, engage at the wto

come to exercise leadership there, to hear the concerns of both sides of this issue and to drive towards a solution that will help to save lives. because without a solution here we are going to be in an economic recovery limbo for a very long time, and all of these of the things we're are not really going to translate into much if the rest of the world can't recover just along with us at the same pace. >> thank you, ambassador. >> let me recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett, to inquire. >> thank you very much, mr. cha. ambassador, our country is so fortunate to have a leader like you, your integrity, your insight and your priorities. i was of course particularly pleased by the action that you took with reference to the need to get more vaccine manufactured around the world to meet the

pandemic needs that d.c. so painfully demonstrated in other corners of the world, much as happened here last year. as you look at that whole question of where we go from here, i think it's not surprising that those here in the congress who have opposed at every step attempts to protect american consumers from prescription price gouging would not look favorably on action to protect americans from covid variance developing around the globe by addressing global health and having more vaccine manufactured. we have heard one manufacturer suggest that they might raise the price of their vaccine almost tenfold from $19.50, $175 a dose. we know that the principal vaccines have relied on research

and technology developed at public expense at nih, and in the case of the moderna vaccine almost 100% financed by the taxpayers in what's happened with these vaccines. you have mentioned in your comments that time is of the essence, and to think it certainly is. both the scope and the urgency of addressing this matter, and i would ask you to comment further on what we can expect to see to address the very urgent need as you said, times of the essence. >> mr. doggett, know how important these issues are to you, and thank you for your kind words. your questions are serious ones, and let me say this. let me take it in two parts. when is what can we expect to

see in the trade lane at the wto. as i mentioned earlier in my response to congressman brady, you can expect from us a full commitment to the wto, to rise to the challenge of this moment to produce an outcome that is going to impact people's lives directly and positively. this is not easy. the wto has not got a record of moving quickly or getting to yes, across 164 members who must all agree very often, but if we can't do this now, then i think that -- let me put it this way in a more positive light. this is the opportunity for the wto to show its relevance for mankind. let me pause their ncf that's responsive to your question. >> thank you, and i know there

are already companies in israel and canada and denmark had expressed an interest in manufacturing generic copies and would just look for to working with you to see that we actually make a difference with this waiver in the coming months, not in coming years. let me touch on another area that is been important to you. i i remember a time in this committee when along go the chairman out to ridicule the notion of environmental and labor standards being part of our trade agenda. you have made it central to what is now a 21st century trade policy. one issue i have been concerned with for several years is the general system of preferences. i introduce legislation called the earth act which is not been incorporated along with other important provisions in the legislation. mr. blumenauer has offered. can we expect to see environmental criteria included within gasb in the near future?

>> congressman doggett, what i would say is this. gsp is a statutory program and congress has a lot to say about this. but from my perspective, yes, i am, the administrator so supportive of taking this opportunity for reauthorizing gsp in the year 2021 to update it, , to match all of the progrs we have made in other areas of our trade policy and that includes incorporating environmental criteria and. >> thank you. and finally i am very appreciative of the action you have taken to give meaning to the labor standards within the usmca. do you anticipate being able to take the same kind of priority on the environmental standards in our trade agreements? as you know i've been particularly concerned about the failures of peru with regard to timber being harvested from rain forest. >> yes, mr. doggett.

environmental standards we have in our agreements need to be enforced. that is a priority and i just want to see even more broadly, enforcement of our trade agreement is commitment, that we're making to our trading partners, that he's agreed with that of, through congress must mean something. >> thank you. >> i recognize the judgment from california, mr. nunes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ambassador, welcome back to the committee. i am really honored to have you here and in your position, it's really great to see, so congratulations on your appointment. i want to turn to this agreement on trips that many people have talked about, the trade related aspects of intellectual property rights. it would force the american developers of covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics to relinquish their intellectual property rights to these medicines that essentially show for nations how to produce these drugs themselves.

i just and your point about we really want these vaccines to get out, but at the same time this is american technology that spent billions of dollars of developing. one of the concerns i have is really the only country that could quickly make these types of vaccines that implement this would be china. i know that india and others are saying that but it really seems like they want to steal this very new technological a special as relates to the moderna and pfizer vaccines. did you conduct in the analysis on this front with what would happen, who could actually make these vaccines? >> thank you, congressman nunes. yes, this decision was made after a lot of deliberation. i think we have adopted what i think is an unusual practice at

least four ustr. starting in mid april i begin consultations with interested parties, labor organizations, civil society, public health advocates, public health experts both inside and outside of government, and also the manufacturers themselves. we take policymaking extremely seriously and so my short answer to you is yes, we are thinking through, we have really dug into holsey implications. let me say this. in terms of our announcement of support for waiting intellectual copyrights have wto come support for the goals of the proposed at the wto, what we are committing to a starting at the wto to find a solution at the wto that is going to have two, through these

negotiations, take into account concerns from all sides so that we can have something that is effective and practical in saving lives. >> obviously we are very proud that another one of our staff, longtime staff be going to wto but wto has really been a beacon of light in freedom. they have had tremendous issues, as you are well aware, i do know we are always trying to work and fix and make the wto function better. you did mention the manufacturers and that to me is the key here. manufacturers who developed this and develop these vaccines, they are u.s. companies, and just to turn over that intellectual property to these other nations, especially china who we still don't have a full understanding of the origins of this virus at this time and what their involvement was, do you know?

i mean, when you met with the u.s. manufacturers did they explain to you, express to you the concern about china being able to utilize this? >> i want to be a little circumspect about exact what the manufacturers told you have told me of any offer you a couple observations and insights from my conversations with the individual manufacturers and also with their trade association. which is that, the manufacturers, is quite a number of them, they are not a monolithic group. their technologies are different. their leadership personalities are different, and their corporate philosophies are actually quite different as well. some of these manufacturers do think of themselves not just as businesses with obligations to shareholders. some of them gsib and sells as important actors in the public health ecosystem, in the world.

>> let me get to specific question. so how long would it take the country to build up facilities it would take to produce these vaccines? did you look at that? >> sure, yes. >> how long would it take them to build? >> let me put it this way. in order for you to access to the best information i probably not the best source for the answers that you are looking for. but let me assure you, yes, we are looking at the full picture. look at the ip idps and the o also in the context of how this and other actions will work together to translate into increased manufacturing more equitable distribution. >> my time is up, mr. chairman, but i just want to come by concerned on the record here about china being the only one to exploit the use of these vaccines that i just want to get on the record what i appreciate going over all of it. >> let me recognize the gentleman from california mr. thompson to inquire.

>> mr. chairman, thank you and thank you for holding this hearing today. welcome, ambassador. we are pleased were with us and we're delighted that you are in the position you are in. in my district, tariffs are hammering our number one industry, which is agriculture. the wine community in my district is being pulled into unrelated trade disputes after trade dispute, all that have nothing to do with them. over the last few years they've been targeted by canada because of how we label meet, by china in the steel and aluminum dumping dispute, , and by the eu over aircraft subsidies and digital issues. i'm hopeful that demonstration can bring relief to these existing tariff dispute and also make forward progress to the wine community with a strong uk free trade agreement. being able to eliminate tariffs from wine with the uk that

removes the possibility of nontariff barriers would bring a much-needed win two are struggling producers. similarly, a zero for zero agreement with the eu on wine would have the same positive impact for the u.s. wine exports that i represent as it did for speeder exports. terrorist free access for wind would fix the current tariff imbalance that disadvantages our producers. this change is supported by wine producers in both the u.s. and the eu. hopefully this is something you can get done. madam ambassador, as one of the negotiators on the usmca agreement, i thank you for the commitment to using the new tools in that law to the maximum extent possible to protect american workers and american jobs from unfair trade practices. on another note i appreciate at

the pandemic has exacerbated trade issues and disrupted supply chains. this has a real wide impact on my district what we just lost thousands of homes because of the deadly fires that we experienced. the surge in lumber prices is making it harder to revealed. rebuild. this is hurting real people already reeling from these fires one way that we can help suppress this is by doing away with tariffs on canadian softwood lumber. supply disruptions are not limited to lumber. i continue to hear from constituents about supply chain and tariff issues that increase costs or make it just absolutely impossible to purchase things, things as basic as bicycle parts, table lamps, and sporting equipment. i urge you to make sure trade policies are responsive to the realities our communities face,

and that you're aware doing we can to help bring about relief. i appreciate the challenges facing you at ustr, to rebuild trade relations and resolve the numerous trade issues that face our constituents, and i look forward to hearing your thoughts on how the administration plans to address the issues that i've raced today. >> mr. thompson, it's nice to see you here let me take up your issues one by one. in terms of the tariffs and you're your urging me and ustr and this administration to really double that and work hard on resolving some of these disputes that are being expressed right now through tariffs, that is exactly what we are doing. and i believe it was in early march we suspend on both sides of the tariffs in the ongoing boeing airbus dispute with the european union to create space

for negotiating a resolution. i am very serious about accomplishing a resolution in these four months so that we don't even need to talk about whether or not we would need to reintroduce the tariffs because we have met our goal. i am a very much am hopeful and will do everything that we can in our power to make sure that we do arrive at the goals within this for months. .. right, trade enforcement -- at the point of trade enforcement is not to get to the point where you can punish the other side. what you are trying to do always is get to the point where you can negotiate a solution or accommodation. i get so, i take your point that where we have tariffs build up the goal is to figure out how to resolve our differences. on the uk, let me just say, very

important strategic trading partner. we are working with them in a number of areas and the trade agreement negotiations are an important topic for us to keep working on with them. tand other areas as well let me say i look forward to continuing to work with you on your priorities and delivering for the american economy. >> thank you very much, madam ambassador. i yield back. >> i think the gentleman in the meat recognize the gentleman from florida, mr. buchanan, to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ambassador, congratulations. we look forward to working withh you and i think both sides are excited about the possibilities. i want to touch on some different things. i'm a big, big believerr in my life of 30 years in business of planning and that means havingea goals, strategies and just as important of any of that is having some sense of timeline. i don't know, i know these are comp gated so i don't want to

say something that doesn't make sense but let me just run through a few different things. in terms of tpp, it was something that blew up for various reasons but i think we can have an improved version of what is there and i can tell you, i asked chairman paul ryan andd many of us meant with five or six countries and during that time every one of them were concerned about china the same concerns we've got today with china and they all encourage us, and putting much begged us that we need to get involved and we need to be engaged there in that part of the world so i guess what is your sense of tpp? is that an opportunity and can you give us some sense of iss that on your agenda because a lot of people think we are so preoccupied with the domestic agenda appear that i would encourage you as you know trade, for example in florida one out of five jobs is trade related and 90% of the market is outside

the u.s. so on tpp and then i want to run through a few of these others to. >> mr. buchanan, let me say this, in terms of what tpp was trying to calm flesh its overall goals which was to work with countries in the region thatl we have shared interests with to become closer with them and to, together, cooperate to address challenges that are coming from china and those are basic parameters that are extremely important. >> is there any sense of a timing? are you looking at it, i know you just got in the job but is that something we will get later in the year? the reason i say this is because i'm the republican leader on trade and i want to help you, help your agency, all of us do to have success but without some sense of the goals and the timeline it is hard to do that but that is the mindset i bring

their so let me just move over quickly to we can talk more about tpp a little bit. the idea or eu, as the chairman mentioned, that is something when the obama administration and his team was in europe and i had a chance to meet with them over there they were focused on that back then and i know it is not easy but as the chairman mentioned we have a lot of shared values. that should be, you know, something that is high-priority what is your sense of your thoughts on that? i know you touched on it a little bit so is there any sense of a timeframe or idea of where we are there? >> in both cases tpp let me take these up together, if you like they depended on those in 2015, 2016 and it's now 2021 and we just come through a number of years that have been really impactful here. especially as relates to trade policy. so, in terms of working with

countries in the asia-pacific, working with the european union, i am committed to figuring out how we and 2021 work togethern with them in a way that is relevant to the economy. >> i want to touch base on two other quick things. the uk, obviously that is something i don't know that we should be engaged now in and to some extent but that's a real opportunity and could quickly comment on that? >> so, the uk at negotiations there were five rounds of negotiations over the course of last year, and as you know the original objective for the negotiations came up in late 2018, i think. in that time the uk finalized some of the terms of its exit from the eu. i think that it really is incumbent on us here at the beginning of the administration to look really holistically at the objective and at where we are now economically, where the

uk is in its transition out of the eu. >> one more question. >> i want to be thoughtful. >> yeah, yeah, and i want to visit with you more. can you, i think there's a lot of bipartisan support and i can tell you there's almost a billion people in africa today, as you know, china is very active and engaged all over the continent and i just think it is something we need to clearly look at and should be a little easier but none are easy but i think that is something that my sense because we had meetings that and you are probably at them but the people are pretty open-minded to try to do something more active on the continent because, again, china is very active and engaged and i've been in 15 countries there are ten countries or whatever it is in a lot of countries and pretty much every country is building roads and building government buildings and all these other things. i think that is one we need to stay focused on as well. i look for to working with you and thank you and we will see you shortly.

>> i think the gentleman. let me now reckon eyes the gentleman from connecticut to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman and welcome ambassador and may i associate myself with the remarks of chairman meal and virtually everyone on both sides of the aisle and recognize your accompaniments, ambassador and also our great faith in your ability. i just have two questions for you. we met recently with md rahman from manchester, connecticut who is a great storybr in and of himself, immigrated here from bangladesh and recently set up a vaccine clinic in manchester and delmont street and it's a model of how to get vaccines out in a community. i've visited and visited with

those who made a direct plea and i think your participation in this waiver to make sure that those citizens of bangladesh and india certainly both capable and maybe can get the vaccination and this is a global pandemic and these actions are both appropriate and necessary and command you and hoping you can comment on how you see things working out from that perspective and also, we cannot be prouder of the fact that of your position with regard to the paris accords. i was wondering if you could provide current state of integration of the paris accords with the usmca and how congress could help support that. two questions and related to

india and bangladesh and vaccine relief and then the integration of paris accords into the usmca. >> mr. larson, let me take up the first question on india, bongo -- in the wto effort to address the resolution of restrictions that may get in the way of more broad and equitable distribution of vaccines. in terms of o what next and what our plan is our plan is to engage in good faith and to bring the sides together. the proponents, in terms of what they need and what they have expressed as their goals, which we support and also those who have not, who have not come in yet or had not sat down at the table yet to encourage them toen roll up their sleeves and join us at the table to make the wto

relevant and to help save lives. on your second question on the paris accords i just wanted to say i will be seen actually both my counterparts from canada and mexico next week to the convening of the free trade commission under the usmca. this is something that has to happen every year as the ministers come together to review the health, if you will, yearly checkup for the agreement and i would be pleased to continue to raise this particular issue that you have brought up with both my counterparts. >> what message of hope would you bring back to people who have relatives in india and bingo? how hopeful are you of these vaccines getting out in a timely basis and those that are desperately needed in those countries? >> i'm externally motivated.

i cannot be more motivated and working in and administer ration of people who are not just motivated but incredibly talented and very, very good at their jobs. so, you know, it has been a top couple of years for everyone in the world and i just want to sa let's all have hope. if we are positive and if we are committed, humanity really can come listen anything. >> thank you so much, ambassador. i yield back my time. >> i think the gentleman and now reckon eyes the gentleman from nebraska, mr. smith, to inquire. >> thank you gentlemen. i certainly thank you ambassador tai and congratulations again. i will echo what everyone else has said and we are grateful you are there and that you are able to bring your waves and means background to budget important position that you are in right now. certainly appreciate the opportunity and working with you on usmca.

i think it is so important with usmca being probably the most bipartisan trade agreement, certainly in the modern history. i think that the minimum that that created with other trade opportunities i'm sure you see that as an opportunity moving forward as we are looking at china, japan, uk and kenya and so many things. that is why i'm hoping that trade promotion authority can be extended here t as it is about o expire and were already in a time where even without aspirind and posing challenges and so we know that tpa was so important to obtain up usmca and not bipartisan opportunity to really strengthen trade so that our producers, whether it is agriculture, manufacturing and other specters of our economy can benefit from trade.

now, more specifically on usmca we are now almost a year since the agreement went into force and a landmark agreement, she many things probably the most confidence of enforcement provisions of any trade agreement, as you know, and i'm very specifically troubled by presidents -- in mexico with his government adopting basically europe's precautionary principle as a basis for rejecting imports and the delaying of agriculture or biotech products as well as the recent decree with genetic read modify corn. i'm from nebraska and this isn't readily troubling and were the leading of white corn in the nation and mexico takes on average 54% of u.s. export of white corn in over 90% which is

biotech. nebraska is also a leading producer of yellow corn production so looking at the upcoming new york usmca that if you do you plan on raising this with her carter votes and more broadly, how do you utilize the tools available to resolve these issues in a timely manner? >> mr. smith, great to see you. i visited with iowa corn growers in the last week or so and was really helped by them sharing their insights directly. i really appreciate you sharing the specifics in terms of nebraska corn as well. that is all to say i'm very aware of the frustrations of our corn growers with access to mexico's market and yes, yes, i do plan to raise this at the ftc next week and i will continue to

work this issue along with all the other issues that we need to work with mexico and canada to make progress for our farmers, ranchers, workers and just for our regular americans who work so hard for their livelihood. >> thank you. if you could please keep me and my office apprised of what you are able to accomplish there. i just can't express enough how important it is that we move forward with these opportunities that i see for expanding trade. i do want to express my concern about waiving the ip issues surrounding pharmaceutical products and some have already been mentioned and responded accordingly and i just want to express my concern that we don't

want to inadvertently empower some other countries t that dont exactly engage in free trade and we do or we prefer they would. so, i think waiving ip protections in support of forced technology transfer will result in sharing commercially sensitive information with china and perhaps others and i just think we need to be extremely careful and very judicious in that insight and i just wanted to ask members and end with that. >> i think the gentleman great let me recognize the trade subcommittee chairman, mr. blumenauer to inquire. >> thank you very much, mr. cha. adam ambassador, thank you, so great to see you and i appreciate the ranking member's comments and the chair about angela who will be leaving us for a new assignment. i was very proud to watch the ranking member in the chair

present you to the senate finance committee for your confirmation hearing. it is an example of how trade done right, i think, can bring us together rather than unnecessarily divide us. you have been masterful in terms of helping this committee chart that path. i am not going engage with the ranking member about or what mass the trump administration left you in terms of navigating trade agreements, frayed relationships, incoherent tariff policies and disruptions in markets and abandoning opportunities to work cooperatively with international partners that agree with us. i think you're in the process of reconstructing that and i hope we can do that on a bipartisan basis. i strongly disagree with theel notion that somehow being able

to deal with the trips waiver is somehow abandoning these sensitive ip issues to the chinese the chinese obsessione from the previous administration prevented us from acting quickly and resultedio, i'm convinced, d tens of thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of lives being lost. you're very carefully modulated answer of how you will approach that in a partnership with industry, with other countries in the wto framework i think is exactly how we will be able to work moving this forward. mr. chairman, if you have no objection i likemr to enter into the record a letter of over 100 members of congress supporting this process. >> so ordered. >> thank you ver y much, mr. chairman. i must, of course, identify with my friend from california strong defense of particular the wine industry and we feel it here but being able to sort through and i

appreciate being able tole use this four month window to be able to have a thoughtful approach to be able to unwind some of this, not have collateral damage at a time when we want to strengthen our economy and strengthen our markets. i guess i would just want to focus for a moment in an area that i know is of deep concern to you in terms of how we will be able to pull the pieces together dealing with the challenges that we have with china. i hope that unlike the prior riadministration we are not goig to interfere with agricultural markets, we will not have this disruption inn exchange for purchase order which may or may not be fulfilled when we would rather have people trading and engaging and pushing back on issues of forced labor of inappropriate state subsidies and the overproduction in certain areas that are creating

this problem that you are, again, trying to unwind with the tariff policy. would you like to comment for a moment on your thoughts about going forward dealing with china intellectual property and the trade disruptions that we have had in the course of the last four years. >> absolutely. and q mr. blumenauer. in terms of the china challenge i think this is probably one of the most consequential, if not the most consequential issue that we have to confront as we look at the future of the u.s. economy in the global marketplace. the china challenge is large and china moves fast and china has clear vision of where it wants to go and we need to match the competition that we are getting from china by having a clear vision about what kind of

economy we want to have and what kind of strength we have that we are going to build on and what kind of strength we have that we still need to build on and how we are going to relate to china first, if china can make changes but second, if china cannot make changes and on the question you asked, you know, regarding forced labor and the anticompetitive practices from china, whether it is subsidies or other types of practices that really create a global market nomination that drives out competition in economies like ours and what i would say is this that the u.s. china trade and economic agreement is phase one agreement is what we have is the agreement that we have right now and it does have certain mechanisms that we will need to test out but in terms of building on and building out where we need to be with respect to china i'm looking forward to

working with you, the members of the committee and themb senate d across the a administration on how we best position the u.s. economy to be strong and to run fast and to really come out ahead after we come out of this pandemic and into the future. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. i assure you that your own colleagues on the trade subcommittee are looking forward to being your best friend and capitol hill as we try to navigate these difficult challenges. >> i think the gentleman great let me recognize the gentleman from new york, mr. reid to inquire. >> you mr. chairman. i joined my colleagues and wish you well and i know you will be successful in working together in your tenure in your position will be very positive one. i think and i just want to take a moment and use my time to put that down into a very concerning issue to me which is access to

canada. we work hard in our office with many of our colleagues on the committeein and on side of the committee in regards to the canadian negotiations in particular and in regards to those issuesti about dairy accei with the canadian market. as the usmca was finalized i was concerned in my humble opinion not to embrace the spirit as well as the terms of the canadian portion of the agreement when it came to access from our dairy producers, especially those which produces a tremendous amount of cheese and otherch milk products for quick easy delivery to the canadian marketplace and so that being said i was pleased that the trade-off pursue consultation with canada over this issue and i just wanted to

get your commitment today to continue to hold canada to those negotiated provisions and also to get a read today as you sit here as to how those consultations are going and if the consultations are not going positively from your perspective when can we expect some type of additional action to hold canada to the terms of the usmca agreement?to >> thank you for your question on dairy. i am very keenly aware of how important v the dairy commitmens that canada made were tone successfully closing out the usmca negotiation. i take these concerns that the u.s. dairy industry has extremely seriously and consultations continue good as you know the consultations of

translated from one administration to the next and i have raised this issue with my counterparts in canada on my first call with her i will continue to raise this and we will be conducting assessments at in terms of what the next steps are and as i have said to other members and i am happy to commit to you thehe tools that e in the usmca are in there for ae reason and they will make nafta better and to make this agreement work and we must use those tools because we have them and because frankly, we are committed to our partnership so i hope that provides you with some assurance in terms of how focused we are on this issue. >> very helpful and ambassador i look forward to working with you on this issue as well as many others and with that idea back. >> i think the gentleman and i recognize the judgment from

wisconsin, mr. kind to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. madam ambassador so nice to welcome you back to the committee and you are the right person in the right job with the right set of skills at the right comment and all of us look towards working with you on a very robust and successful trade agenda as we move forward. i'd be remiss if i did not mention and i share my reads settlement in regards to access to canada under usmca. one of the great breakthroughs as you know well with mc a worked with the enhancement it easier foring us to sell the trade agreement to the constituents that we represent so we look forward to working with you on that as we move forward. also we will be reintroducing the bipartisan wto resolution shortly in committee and i know you are familiar with it because you and ms. ellen were helpful in putting that together for us as we introduce it at the end of last year so we will look forward to working with you on the necessary forms that we hope

the wto will be making to strengthen the institution and trade disputes can be resolved peacefully throughout the globe. i'm cochairing the u.s. paid interparliamentary working group and as alluded our top priority is the bilateral trade negotiation that we hope to build up and move forward on. of course we will work on tpa authorization in order to accomplish that so we will coordinate with the a administration on the timing of when we can start moving forward on that front but my question for you today and previously the concern about the 232 tariffs as you know i and others are very displeased with the previous administration started slapping these 232 tariffs on our closest friends and allies all under the guise of national security concerns. you know mygu sentiment toward trade as it's more than goods and products and services crossing borders and the

important part of a nomadic and national security toolbox and so i'm hoping that you will work aggressively and quickly in finding resolutions with the 232 with the closest allies, especially in the edu with great britain right now because this is having an economic impact in wisconsin from our being producers to cranberry growers they teamed up with a representative on the impact on harley in wisconsin and manufactured in it's a component as well but could you give us an update on how hopeful you are and also the 232's your interest in working more closely with congress that we have a greater say in the imposition of 232 with reforms that need o to be made based on bipartisan legislation that i and others have introduced in the past to give congress a more meaningful role in voice before the imposition of 232 in the future?

>> congressman, i actually it was my mistake not to have mentioned you in the earlier akanswer about dairy and so i am glad that you have endorsed your interest in dairy as well. t on the 232 you are right. i know very much your interest in this issue and your interest in having a better way to go about enforcement. let me just say this. i had an opportunity to talk about this yesterday a senate finance committee also but let me elaborate some. the 232 tariffs do come up on almost all of my calls with my foreign counterparts. and so, their concerns they reinforce with me directly and we have seen that the 232 tariffs have been effective in addressing an x essential threat to our to mystic's aluminum and

steel industries which have been facing global market distortions for over a decade and from my first we were having conversations about the threat coming from this overbuilding of capacity in china primarily but not just in china and other countries as well but we know that 232 tools have their limitations and so what i want to do is and i look forward to working with you and others and i would like to strengthen the trade tools that we have to address the problems that we have today. whether it is global overcapacity or other challenges that weren't contemplated 50, 60 years ago and many of our trade statutes were drafted and we should plug-in the the gaps that we've seen encountering the trades that we see today and what i really am doing is asking the congress to work with me on enhancedd relevant trade tools and if that is something --

>> madam investor -- i didn't catch those and we are interested in engaging but as you know many of us are in regular medication with our eu counterparts and uk counterparts so i encourage you to coordinate with us in some way as far as where we are going with theu 232's and hope for resolution in the future but thank you so much for your testimony and we look forward to working with you, thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. let me recognize the gentleman from pennsylvania mr. kelly to inquire. >> i think the chairman. ambassador tai, everyone is congratulating you and i want to thank you for taking this part of your life to actually come and do what you are doing right now because it is one of those things that trade is, it is truly, all of us are interested in it buter sometimes we get ino this and drafter on the axle on the applicable end of these thing as opposed to true policy and i'm in america first person just because i'm an american and i find it interesting that sometimes we have aca blind eyeo

it what has been taking place as we continue to lose market share, year after year and decade after decade and lose our ability in the area i come from people talk about steel and they talk aboutin pittsburgh and the steel isn't terribly important to us, agis number one business in pennsylvania, especially hardwoods and i know right now i'm hearing this come from conversation about the price of softener has gone up five 100% and i have friends in the hardwood business who have had productsve offshore that was shipped tosh china but was never allowed to be delivered so we look at all these different issues that we have and i got to tell you the united states steel would invest one and a half billion dollars in the mond valley and they got away from that investment right now because it doesn't look like it makes sense to invest now ecbecause there would be a retun on that investment. people have been telling about their concerns and there is not

one concern that any of us should not care for any part of the market place and i think that sometimes again i will go back to it that if we can't get by the political part of this and just skip to straight policy because what i'm talking about now our jobs. emergent jobs. american position in the market place in america's ability to defend herself with other things that take place in the world where we get game so often. i talked to on the phone the other day about electric steel called ghost and this is the product that goes inside transformers that help us move electricity around the country. the last producer of grain oriented electric steel in the united states is half a mile from the dealership that i've been in all my life, the automobile industry. more jobs and more portly is initials gritty problem when in the future of the united states if they do not have the ability

to produce their own products and rely on foreign source as we have seen happen during this pandemic it is like it is time to take off the dunce cap and understand why this happens. i'm going to be relying on you. i have no question needs today other than to thank you for what you are doing and i would hope that all of us come together with the idea that the market share we lost and a lot of it is because of our own policies wnwhere we have made it impossie for our manufacturers to compete globally by domestic policy. this is really hard to understand. i watched it happen in the automobile industry and goes back to decisions that were made by people who were in a position to make decisions that did not have an idea of what the outcome of those decisions would be. america cannot afford to lose any more market share globally so i am with you on everything and also my colleagues when it comes to protecting american jobs, american manufacturing,

american position in the world that is my number one concern and has nothing to do with red or blue, republican or democratt but it is a red, white, blue initiative that i am glad we will have an opportunity to work with you on so i thank you for your service and i thank you for your commitment and you could be doing a lot of other things and i told angela many times why do you stay here? you could do or make so much more money going into the private sector and it is because of love of country so i would hope this panel and everybody else that is served in this congress would understand that our love of america should far outweigh any type of political difference we have come a policy for the usa is a policy we all should be working on and i thank you for your service and mr. chairman i go back. >> i think the gentleman and i recognize that gentleman from new jersey, mr. pasqual, to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i don't want to associate myself with the words of mr. kelly. i guess it doesn't belong here if it makes sense. it makes sense to me. i want to welcome the ambassador

back. we are proud of you. you are missed already. it is no secret to you that my focus continues to be the new nafta. the deal was supposed toew break government connected protection unions and i read the words of the debates and you do not have to become any kind of wizard, which i am not, to understand that that was a major focus of many of our remarks and their crooked corporate connections because they have escaped from these discussions over the past ten years. what is p the responsible the other corporations and how we deal with one another? they need to stand up and take the responsibility somewhat with us and i hope during your tenure

that you will not be a mouthpiece for any administration but give us your independent thoughts because they've been good in the past and i will rely on those but there have been over 830 votes since this deal was signed. only two protection have been overturned. two in one year. that is less than one half of 1%. there are continued reports of intimidation, of harassment, retaliation, in fact, we know that in one of the unions the attorney was not only fired but harassed et cetera et cetera and i predict that will be a very fundamental issue whether it goes to trial or not and i think it's fundamental. workers lawfully seek independent presentation in

mexico and then we find out these companies are owned by folks in canada and thank you for following our lead to denounce the labor rights violations at general motors and the plant in ca low mexico and in the labor community's case against -- it ratchets it up the pressure. thank you for your thoughts and your words in the last a a administration cannot be bothered to do the bare minimum for workers and no evidence of that whatsoever and you were influential in dragging them kicking and screaming to support real enforcement and spent a lot of time discussing that so i believe workers are in good hands with you at the home and

if you can't secure a victory for workers i don't know who could. i got along well and we all did with mr. like hauser and he did a pretty good job entering us into the realug actions talking about protecting workers both in mexico, canada and the united states. i think mr. kellyte should think about and we should discuss together what trade has to do with exporting jobs from the united states? >> as soon as we talk about that we are talking about corporate responsibility and we don't want to talk or touch it, democrats and republicans and not just republicans but in europe and europeee coming meeting with yor

canadians and mexican counterparts will you commit to raising these two labor cases. >> yes, sir. >> will you push your mexican counterparts to improve the legitimate protocols as outlined in the december mexico labor expert board report. >> i plan to do that, yes. >> i believe strongly in our trade policies must address the threat of climate change. in january 19122 house members joined me and pulling on the biden administration to work with canada and mexico to include the paris agreement in their renegotiating nafta. in europe coming with canada and mexico will you raise the prospect of amending a multilateral environmental agreement covered by the

renegotiated nafta to include the paris agreement. >> mr. pascarella, i think there would be a great opportunity to do so. >> thank you. i appreciate your answers and, mr. chairman, i go back, thank you. >> i think that gentleman. i never can eyes the gentleman from missouri, mr. smith, to inquire. >> we will come back to mr. smith. let me recognize the gentleman from illinois to inquire. >> thank you mr. chairman ambassador tai, welcome. congratulations on your new position and i think it speaks volumes about you and your prior work that you are, confirmed in the senate 98 to nothing and having mr. brady and mr. neil there to introduce you. i look forward to continuing to work with you. i want to talk about china and

if i understand your testimony correct there are a number of different top to bottom reviews as it relates to china and if i understand it dod has a review going on and there is a supply chain review going on and if i understand her testimony u.s. is doing a review of that. i wanted to see how those three are coordinated together and if you can elaborate a little bit on what is your sense and what it will entail and what are the metrics that you will use to analyze the policy and the timeframe for completion? >> thank you. this is obviously another area that we are very focused on and spent a lot of time working on. i think that in terms of terminology we are talking about our review at the top to bottom china review and you're right, there are several reviews going on at the same time. let me to stay which the one that we are undertaking just by saying this is to look at the

u.s. china trade economic relationship to the end lens of fdr and it was on the regulation and the request of senator portman and alum of this committee and former u.s. trade representative sensitive to undertake this kind of a review which they had led at ustr when he was the trade representative back in 2005, 2006 after china had been in the wto for a couple of years. i think this is a really important opportunity for us to undertake a comprehensive review of the u.s. china trade and economic relationship as it is today with reference to the last review that was conducted 15 years ago and to look at all the components of the u.s. china trade policy, including the phase i agreement, including the tariffs, including the exclusions and really have this opportunity to strategically think through what are the

componentsts going to be of an effective strategy and what and whatgy we have right now is effective and what could be more effective and how do we turn the direction of this very important challenge towards the vision that will serve the interests of the u.s. economy today in the medium term and also in the long-term. in terms of your specific question in how we are coordinated ustr plays a role in the interagency review on the supply chain and that is primarily driven by a number of other agencies but clearly ustr equities and insights and experience are critical parts of that review so wenv participate very robustly and bringing our expertise to that conversation. on dod's review that is their review but we do have opportunities to give their opportunities for our teams to

be connecting to apprise each other of updates anddi directios so that we are not doing this left hand, right hand, left leg, right leg and we look at this in a comprehensivee way because tt is the opportunity we have right now to try to get this right. >> thank you for that. back when secretary yellen was going through her confirmationl she described china as engaging in abusive unfair and illegal practices when it comes to the economy. do you agree with that? >> yes y. >> she also described horrendous human rights abuses by the chinese, do you agree with that? >> in terms of the full array of tools that we have when it comes to china tariffs, sanctions what are those other tools that are in the toolbox that you will be looking at? >> another important tool that we have is forced labor import iban that i know members of his committee have been engaged in trying to strengthen with

respect to an forced labor in the united states. in terms of other tools let me say this and this will reference a bit mr. kelly's intervention which is in terms of anticompetitive practices that have really hurt the u.s. economy, jobs are manufacturing capacity, our competitiveness we have seen the harms that have played out over the last 15 or 20 years or even longer but we also know these patterns are going to keep playing themselves out so steel and those are an example of solar modules and it's another example and then as we look at china's industrial policies we can see where the next set of anticompetitive challenges are going to be. i think we need tools that are not just about responding to harms that we have experienced in the past but tools that are

going to dissipate where we are going to have the same pattern of harm to allow us to get ahead of harm and allow us to respond as effectively as possible. >> one quick follow-up question. in terms of that array of tools should the boycotting the onyx be one of those tools? >> on that i'm not sureof. i have not been thinking of that tool stickley and the trade and economic policy lane and i think there's a lot more involved thereis and i know we talked abt this earlier as well and it's an area where the state department leads and it is something i will raise with secretary blinken when i do speak to him next. >> thank you.. >> i think the gentleman and i recognize the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. congratulations ambassador and first of all i want to commend

you and the administration for the considerations that you have given to the waiver dealing with intellectual property, especially as we do the pandemic as a global pandemic and the fact that our country can be helpful to other nations and i find that to be quite commendable. i was pleased to see the administration announce the covid related list of exclusions earlier this year and as schools and businesses reopen it seems more important than ever that some additional products be added to the list. i represent a company that designs and manufactures portable air purification systems and the cdc and the epa have highlighted the importance of air purifiers in combating

covid indoors, including for schools as they reopen and these products are subject to a 25% tariff and i asked my question becomes what additional procedure steps will the administration take to have as much transparencysp and fairnes, whatever we describe fairness in to be in the inclusion process. >> conquers men davis, thank you for the question. me be responsive to your question. with respect to the exclusions r this is one component of our p to bottom china review and let

me say this, i don't want to prejudge the outcome of the review butg obviously this will be an important component and obviously i know from the job thatb i had working for this committee and also the job that i have right now i'm keenly aware of the concerns that have been raised by those trying to make use of the exclusion process about the exclusion process in terms of transparency and fairness and predict ability of the process. i guess what i would say is as part of our review we will need to hear from all of those voices, here in congress and also out there in the economy in terms of their experience with this process as we assess how we can improve and make more effective our china trade policy. >> let me ask -- in responding to a question for the record submitted by the senate finance

committee you stated that trade negotiations you have not prioritized one stakeholder over another in agricultural trade outcome should not come at the expense of others in agriculture. at one time chicago was known as the -- capital of the world. however, many of our sugar used in manufacturers have relocated to south america and canada due to the sugar program and more importantly the tariff rate quota. what are your thoughts about our sugar situation at the moment and isn't there way way that we might encourage a more balanced sugar product? spirit mr. davis, i know that no one knows more about candy then you do and so i would be very interested in continuing the

conversation and having my team dig in with yours about where your opportunities may lie. >> thank you so much and thank you wister chairman. i have five questions i will submit for the record and i yield back. >> so ordered. let me not recognize eyes the gentleman from arizona, mr., to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. madame ambassador first iou a thank you for all your work in helping mr. kind and those interested in the wto resolution. this becomes one of those moments now that you are behind that dais and if you were rewritten drafting it again today would you draft it differently? >> well, that's a great question and i could probably write you an essay about this but i know we've had time so we can't go back in time but today where we

are in 2021 yes, i think the fundamentals of the wto itself needsda reform and needs to reflect the reality of today. >> i rarely get anyone who says that was a good question so now i'm all giddy. for many of us here and representative kind and his staff we've had this running conversation and it is both adjudicatory body and i mispronounced it but particularly it is speed and i actually truly believe in the coming decade the disputes are going to be on things from synthetic biology to things that are truly cutting-edge but very disruptive to the economy but speed will be crucial and you can't have a decademe of the gas going back and forth and by the time you actually get to a

decision the economic of the dispute are gone and what can we do and we've had will have a friend there in the body with your understanding of our concerns and what is or what can we as members of congress do to help the argument that the reforms of the wto also have to be about the timeline, these timelines can't be a decade anymore? >> , rissman, i think the number one thingin that you can do is what you're doing right now which is to be deeply engaged. it matters so much for the u.s. leadership in u.s. participation at the wto for the wto and its members to know that the united states cares and that it is not just ustr, not just the executives but that u.s. participation and leadership is

backed up by congressional interests and congressionalre requirements. with respect to the dispute settlement system i hear you want speed. i mean, the largest air craft cases were first launched in the mid to thousands and that is part of what is motivating meer and really putting the no's to the grindstone with the european union to try to resolve these cases now and it's in part because all this time has led to something that just has not been just a colossal waste of time. i think there are other aspects to dispute settlements that we really need to think about and we really need to think holistically about dispute settlements, not just as one part of the wto but one key component that is important for itself but also directly impacts the other part which is the negotiating function.e strong is the dispute settlement system has become it has taken a long time and it has become a

very active and we have also seen an atrophying of the negotiating functions in these two things are connected. >> there are articles other than that talk about everything from a, you know, a quick ruling, escrow continued dispute, something enforces more pressure, more value for action and negotiations to come to a close and we need to produce some mechanism that creeps almost a leverage that you will negotiate in good faith to its final decision instead of a game that appears to be going on now and may take take forever and at that point gives us an ip type cases in the value of it has faded away. >> i like the way you are thinking about it and i would like to continue to work with you and others on this committee on some of these ideas. >> you are very kind. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thankou you.

i recognize the gentle lady from california, missus sanchez, to inquire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ambassador tai, thank you for joining us today. it's a pleasure to see you here. i know you dedicated most of your career to public service and it's great to see you breaking barriers for women of color at every step and particularly great to see you leave the office of the u.s. trade representative. i very much looking forward to partnering with you to build a more equitable and worker focused trade agenda. ith wanted to start my questions by turning to an issue that you are no doubt very familiar with, usmca. i know you spent countless hours strengthening the u.s. mca to incorporate changes that have powered our economy that have benefited workers and now you are charged with implementation, rather, of key labor issues that he worked very hard on, including the rapid response mechanism. i want to first begin by

expressing my support for your actions to proactively use the rapid response mechanism, as i am sure you are aware earlier this week a the asl cio publishd an independent mexican trade union filed their first complaint under the rapid response mechanism. without enforcement our trade are not worth the paper they are written on so i know you're working to try to make sure that her partners are meeting their obligations under the usmca. ambassador tai, you mentioned in your testimony that support from congress can help us deliver results and i'm interested in knowing how can we partner withh your office to ensure that mexican employers and government officials are meeting their obligations under usmca and they are protecting worker rights? >> congressman, thank you so much for your kind words but thank you for raising this particular question because i think that one of the most

direct ways we can partner with us is by raising your priorities and your concerns and expectations at this hearing. i will be meeting, as i noted earlier, of my mexican and canadian counterparts next week at the free-trade commission meeting under the usmca and it is incredibly helpful to me to be able to point to this exchange that we are having right now to demonstrate the credibility of everything i represent in terms of what the priorities are and what the excitations are of members of congress who supportedho this agreement and who really need for the agreement to deliver on its promises. >> great, thank you. i now want to turn to another issue that has a great impact on jobs and workers in my district. my district and neighbors support of long beach which is a source of tremendousus deal of economic activity in the

pandemic has shown disruptions to the supply chains, and particularly, are over reliance on china which can impact our local economy and workers. i understand that you are conducting a full review of the u.s. china trade relationship and i commend that. the last administration relied only on using tariffs to address our ongoing trade issues with china. i heard it somewhere testimony earlier and i believe we have to be creative and use more than just tariffs to address the economic harms of chinese trade policies. i would love to work with you on identifying additional tools to defend against china's unfair trade practices, particularly their reliance on forced labor and i agree that perspective strategies that can stop china from undermining the integrity of our supply chains are needed. ... turn to the issue of trade agreements as a way to promote equity in developing trade