Chiefs tell Biden boss to stop ‘secret talks’ with foreign trade partners

A coalition of lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration’s trade representative, Katherine Tai, to stop what they described as “secret negotiations” with foreign trade partners.

In a Wednesday letter led by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and signed by his 18 colleagues in the Senate, this group accused Tai and the Biden administration of avoiding Congress and failing to consider sufficient input from business leaders. in their push to “accelerate” changes to the country’s two largest free trade agreements with Mexico, Canada and Columbia.

These changes will help amend the definition of investor protection provisions for US businesses included in federal trade agreements with these countries.

“Unfortunately, USTR is pursuing major changes to congressionally mandated trade agreements on an abbreviated timeline, without public input, and without meaningful congressional consultation,” the senators’ letter asserted. “Strong consultation with Congress and stakeholders is critical to ensuring that affected companies and their employees understand what is being proposed and how it could impact operations at home and abroad.”

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The ongoing negotiations are related to the definition of investor protection provisions in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.

Currently, US businesses operating in other countries can file with foreign courts to resolve disputes over business practices with other countries. Current investor protections that allow third-party arbitration in these trade deals have led to claims of significant damages from governments, according to Reuters.

A group of nearly 40 Democrats in the House of Representatives last month said in a separate letter, led by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said they were happy to hear reports about possible revisions to investor protection clauses, opposing the process. of using a third-party intermediary gives businesses the greatest power to interfere with official government actions.

The book called the move “a smart move,” arguing that investor protection measures allow “foreign companies” to arm international courts to override a country’s domestic policies and prioritize corporate interests at the expense of those countries’ workers, consumers, small businesses and multinationals. the environment.

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

“We strongly encourage you to act urgently to eliminate or greatly reduce the ability of international companies to use Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) courts as a tool to attack the legal actions of governments and extract unlimited sums from the taxpayers of countries through the laws, actions, or court decisions of the countries representing those companies which they say are in conflict with their special ISDS rights,” the letter said.

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In an op-ed for the Washington Times, GOP senators Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt of Alabama and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama cited the example of a US construction company, Vulcan Materials, which for decades built the infrastructure to find limestone in Yucatán. But it recently faced a campaign by politicians in Mexico to seize its assets. The campaign was the result of the country’s government announcing in September that the land Vulcan was using to mine limestone was part of a protected Mexican reserve.

Photo of Vulcan Materials’ limestone quarry in Tuscumbia, Ala. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to Tai’s office for comment but did not get back in time for publication.