IPEF talks underway in Singapore

QUICK FIX

— Trade negotiators from across the Indo-Pacific are gathering in Singapore this week for the latest round of trade talks. Their progress will set the tone for a ministerial meeting taking place in Detroit later this month.

— National security adviser Jake Sullivan’s speech outlining the Biden administration’s international economic agenda is drawing criticism. The latest rebuttal comes from a former U.S. trade official who argues the world is not yet on board with the administration’s vision.

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Driving the day

ALL EYES ON SINGAPORE: U.S. trade negotiators are in Singapore this week for the latest round of talks over the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the economic initiative that top administration officials have said they’re on track to conclude by year’s end.

Trade watchers tell Morning Trade that the Singapore confab is a key one to watch. The 14 participating countries have already come together in recent months to discuss negotiating objectives and propose initial text for major swaths of the agreement. Now, the real wheeling and dealing should be underway.

This is also the negotiating round that immediately precedes a gathering of the IPEF trade ministers scheduled for later this month in Detroit. The gang has not gotten together since before the negotiations formally started and the Singapore deliberations will invariably set the tone when they meet in Motor City.

Digital doings: There’s especially keen interest in how discussions around the deal’s digital provisions play out in Singapore. Those are shaping up to be the most politically contentious here in the U.S., with progressive groups and corporate lobbyists viewing the agreement as the new front in their yearslong battle over the need to regulate the U.S. tech sector.

A coalition of labor and environmental groups has already planned a rally in Detroit ahead of the IPEF ministerial meeting, as well as a roundtable discussion set to include Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell (D) and Shri Thanedar(D), our own Gavin Bade reported on Friday.

Let’s connect: Who will be heading to Detroit later this month? Your host will be on the ground and wants to connect with folks in government, industry and advocacy, from the U.S. and from overseas. Shoot me an email with your off-the-record expectations for the confab at [email protected].

A REBUTTAL TO BIDEN’S TRADE AGENDA: The Biden administration has not yet convinced its allies in Washington or foreign capitals that an international economic agenda that embraces industrial policy over free trade is the right model for decades to come, contends Ed Gresser, vice president at the Progressive Policy Institute.

Gresser, who worked at USTR from 2015 to 2021, is out today with a lengthy rebuttal to national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s sweeping remarks last month in which Sullivan rebuked the effects of globalization and instead outlined a vision for a “new industrial strategy.”

Gresser calls Sullivan’s address “an odd piece at an important time” given Biden is gearing up for an election that could once again pit him against former President Donald Trump. Rather than draw contrasts with Trump, who angered allies and shunned multilateral organizations, he said, Sullivan’s speech “seems to be politically out of tune and picking the wrong targets.”

Any claims that there is global consensus around Biden’s economic vision are “premature at best,” Gresser continues. Even those friendly to the administration assert its trade agenda should be more ambitious and that it will remain on the sidelines in vital regions like the Indo-Pacific if it continues to shun pacts that lower tariffs, he notes.

“If U.S. tariffs are as low and irrelevant as Sullivan says (and though he’s not exactly right on the data, he isn’t far wrong), why not use them to bargain for bigger achievements in things he does view as important — say, the labor, environmental, and anticorruption goals he hopes to win from skeptical foreign partners?” Gresser writes.

Other dissenting voices: Gresser isn’t the only trade observer taking issue with Sullivan’s position. William Reinsch, a Commerce Department and Capitol Hill veteran, wrote in his own rebuttal last week that the speech wrongly claims U.S. trade policy has been overly focused on tariffs and largely responsible for economic dislocations in recent decades.

U.S., JORDAN TACKLE AG EXPORT CONCERNS: Trade officials from the U.S. and Jordan agreed last week to address ongoing concerns related to labor rights, environmental protections and agricultural trade under the terms of their free trade agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative revealed Friday.

The ninth gathering of the countries’ joint committee concluded with a commitment from Jordan to remove tariffs on U.S. exports of fertilized eggs, as called for in the 2001 free trade agreement, as well as address barriers to U.S. exports of poultry, apples and corn.

Jordan will also “develop a roadmap to increase respect for freedom of association and elevate worker voice,” per a USTR summary of the meeting. The pair also established a subcommittee on environmental affairs that will “foster dialogue” on climate change and other issues.

The U.S. “expressed a willingness to explore further technical assistance in Jordan with the aim of promoting enhanced trade in the services sector,” USTR added. Both sides are slated to meet again next year in Amman, Jordan.

TAI SHARES HER AMERICAN STORY: The U.S. government’s push to compete with Beijing economically and technologically should not be confused for animosity toward the Chinese people or others of Asian heritage, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Friday.

Speaking at the University of Southern California, Tai acknowledged that Asian Americans have been targeted with threats and violence throughout U.S. history, most recently in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But concerns about Beijing’s market practices cannot become an excuse for hate.

“Let’s be clear: Our concerns are with the Chinese government’s policies and practices, and not with the Chinese people or with people of Chinese descent or heritage,” Tai said. “We can fiercely defend what is ours and also fiercely embrace our different roots and upbringings.”

Tai’s personal story: Tai’s parents were born in China and raised in Taiwan before moving to the U.S. for graduate school. They became citizens several years after Tai was born, she said, a discovery she only made when filling out the paperwork to first join USTR as an attorney 15 years ago. “That’s when I realized that I was the first American in my family,” she said.

When she argued a case at the World Trade Organization early in her career, the other U.S. attorney was the child of parents who emigrated from India, she said. “We beamed with pride knowing that, here we were, two daughters of immigrants, fighting for the nation that had opened doors of hope and opportunity to our families,” Tai said.

Now, as the head of the agency, Tai said her priorities include uplifting “historically excluded voices” and “not just the ones that can afford Washington lobbyists.” That includes workers and small business owners from across the economy, she said.

“In a world where large corporate interests too often dominate the conversations around trade policymaking, we are bringing diverse perspectives to the table and incorporating their priorities,” Tai said.

International Overnight

— Germany’s economy and climate minister has proposed a plan to subsidize electricity costs for struggling energy-intensive industries, POLITICO Europe’s Victor Jack and Gabriel Rinaldi report.

— The EPA is seeking input on how to dole out billions of dollars to clean up air pollution at U.S. ports, E&E News reporter Mike Lee writes.

— Taiwan is bracing for an increase in trade tensions with China, per The Wall Street Journal.

— China’s largest trade fair sees a tepid response amid global growth concerns, Bloomberg writes.

THAT’S ALL FOR MORNING TRADE! See you again soon! In the meantime, drop the team a line: [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Follow us @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Trade.