USTR Agenda Hints At More WTO Friction And Continued Pivot Away From FTAs

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has delivered President Biden’s 2023 Trade Policy Agenda to Congress.

• USTR Katherine Tai said in a statement that COVID-19 and Ukraine revealed the dangers of "concentrated supply chains" in China and "inadequate consideration of geopolitical risk" have contributed to vulnerability in critical technologies.
• Tai acknowledged the US-China trade relationship is the fundamental challenge facing the Biden administration saying, “China’s approach to trade drives friction..." and claiming China's, "large, non-market economy" is able to "distort" the marketplace in the United States and "our closest allies and partners.”
• The report says that the Administration is committed to the WTO but hints that tensions over tariffs and protectionism will continue in 2023.
• “WTO dispute settlement panels have strayed from the WTO’s founding principles" by "casting judgment on the national security decisions of its Members.”
• The report shows no sign of a pivot back to free trade agreements. Focus for 2023 will remain on negotiations outside traditional FTAs with frameworks like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity which have been criticised for failing to provide members access to US markets.
• Full report: USTR 2023 Agenda