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United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the first Asian and Taiwanese- American to hold the top Trade Representative position in the USA, believes the war in Ukraine and the subsequent effects of the war on international supply chains is transient compared to the effects of extended lockdowns and after effects of Donald Trumps trade policy with China. Tai claims “We cannot take our eye off the ball in terms of how important it is for us to take a really strategic and thoughtful path to what kind of a relationship we want to have with China, will matter to our economy in ways that are going to eclipse what we are grappling with in terms of Russia today.”.

The trade war between the USA and China is still ongoing as there are policies put in place by the Trump administration that have carried through to today. As well China has not put any sanctions on Russia for their war in Ukraine even with Joe Biden meeting with Xi Jinping over the phone on a two-hour call. Tai and her Chinese counterpart have been locked in negotiations since last May, with not many concessions being made. Tai is ready to move in a new direction for US trade policy “We can’t just sit around and wait for China to decide to change when it’s ready to. We have to start doing things differently,” she says. “We have to start being more strategic.”.

There has been criticism from many in the US government that the Biden administration has not pulled out of Trumps trade restrictions fast enough. It was a Biden campaign promise to roll back Trump tariffs. Tai and Japanese ambassador Rahm Emanuel have had some big disagreements about the USA rejoining TPP after Trump pulled out in 2017. Other people in the US government want to see more tariffs applied to China due to their inaction on sanctioning Russia, Tai does not wish to punish China at this time.

Thus far Tai and the Biden administration have achieved quite a few of the goals initially set out by the administration. Tai has helped resolve a 17-year dispute between Boeing and Airbus over government subsidies. She has successfully negotiated the imports of pork products from the USA into India and beef into Japan. She effectively upheld the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement when enforcing rules over Canadian dairy imports and questionable labor practices in Mexico. As well, she struck a deal with the UK to remove US tariffs on UK steel if the UK moved to repeal tariffs on US whiskey, motorcycles, and tobacco products.

To conclude, Tai is working hard to change the face of US trade relations and right the path with the US-China trade relationship. Tai is taking a position that trade needs to be focused on the workers and not just to benefit big businesses in the US creating a more stable and fairer environment for the US economy. She is working to be thoughtful and respectful to China and being of Taiwanese descent, she understands Chinese culture better than almost any other top trade representative in US history.

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/russia-ukraine-katherine-tai-us-trade