Lawmakers Urge Tai To Pursue Rejoining TPP

A bipartisan group of House and Senate members sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai last week, asking her to pursue re-entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The four legislators say in their letter that America’s current trade policy in the Asia-Pacific region needs a strategic direction that includes robust engagement with allies in the region, similar to what was envisioned by the original Trans-Pacific Partnership. They also say that withdrawing from the trade agreement was a missed opportunity to strengthen U.S. leadership in the global economy and reinforce America’s commitment to a rules-based system for international trade. The Hagstrom Report says the letter asks Tai to investigate the pros and cons of joining the replacement deal that was signed by the remaining 11 TPP countries in 2018. The four lawmakers—Senators Tom Carper of Delaware and John Cornyn of Texas, along with Representatives Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Stephanie Murphy of Florida—say that rejoining the pact would provide a counter to China’s influence, noting that China’s trade practices have violated international rules and the fundamental principles of fairness, thereby causing harm to U.S. businesses and workers.